The Almanac July 17, 2020 by The Almanac

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Governor orders immediate end to indoor dining as coronavirus surges in California By Bay City News Service

ndoor activities across California must be reined in as the state combats a resurgence of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. The state ordered all 53 counties to close indoor activities at restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, zoos, museums, card rooms and all bars. The new order has a stark impact on San Mateo County, which on June 17 reopened most businesses that Newsom said must shut down. Santa Clara County did not initially appear to be as dramatically affected by the updated order, since it has not permitted indoor operations of most businesses. Each county on the state’s coronavirus monitoring list — which now includes Santa Clara County, according to a press release sent out at 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 13 — must also

close gyms, places of worship, offices in non-critical sectors, hair and nail salons and indoor malls in addition to the statewide closure. Monday was the first day those businesses had been allowed to reopen. “The state confirmed this afternoon that it will require sectors closed for indoor operations in counties on the monitoring list to close in Santa Clara County effective Wednesday, July 15, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. We wanted to share this information with businesses and residents as soon as possible,” the county Public Health Department said in the email. The 30-plus counties on the monitoring list make up roughly 80% of the state’s population, according to Newsom. “We’re seeing an increase in the spread of the virus, so that’s why it’s incumbent upon all of us to recognize, soberly, that See GOVERNOR, page 8

Magali Gauthier

Richard Fekete heads out the door of Alice’s Restaurant with his to-go order in Woodside on March 20. Under a state order issued Monday, indoor dining is not allowed, negating a San Mateo County order that allowed restaurants to reopen with safety precautions in place.

Nearly half of San Mateo County’s COVID-19 cases are among Latinx or Hispanic residents By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer

hroughout San Mateo County and across the U.S., it’s becoming increasingly clear that COVID-19 is hitting some communities harder than others. In San Mateo County, the new coronavirus is hitting residents who are Latinx or Hispanic at the highest rates of any racial or ethnic group, and the number of cases compared to the number of residents is the greatest in East Palo Alto. As of July 10, there were 111 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 10,000 residents, or about 1% of all

residents infected. Just under 49% of the county’s confirmed COVID-19 cases are among residents who identify as Latinx or Hispanic. According to data available Tuesday, July 14, out of 4,168 total cases, 2,034 of them were among Latinx or Hispanic residents. Yet Latinx or Hispanic residents represent 24% of the population overall in San Mateo County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And in North Fair Oaks, a community of nearly 15,000 people in an unincorporated area between Atherton and Redwood City that is about 70%

Hispanic or Latinx, the number of COVID-19 cases reported by the county has remained less than 10 since numbers began to be reported. Across the U.S., Latinx and Black residents have been three times as likely to become infected as their white neighbors, and Black and Latinx people have been nearly twice as likely to die from the virus as white people, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported by the New York Times. The Almanac contacted local experts and leaders to dive deeper into the data San Mateo County is reporting and explore

INSIDE

why the rates might be so high among Latinx residents. Possible underreporting

The San Mateo County Health Department did not provide a clear explanation for why the case count has remained static in North Fair Oaks while it has continued to escalate rapidly in neighboring communities with significant Hispanic or Latinx populations, such as East Palo Alto, where they represent 62% of the population, and Redwood City, where they represent 37% of the population. East Palo Alto Mayor Regina Wallace Jones did not respond

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to a request for comment. Everardo Rodriguez, chairman of the North Fair Oaks Community Council, said he suspected that not many immigrants and Latinx people in North Fair Oaks are getting tested, despite the fact that the county has recently been running a pop-up COVID-19 testing facility in the neighborhood at Everest Public High School, two days a week. The testing site has been busy, according to San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum and a county worker at the testing center who asked See COVID-19 CASES, page 14

on your list of safe places to go “Stanford Medicine is probably one of the safest places you can be. We are taking every precaution.” —Mary Hawn, MD | Chair of the Department of Surgery, Stanford Medicine At Stanford Health Care, we are raising standards at our locations throughout the Bay Area to create a safe environment for our patients and staff. • Employees are tested for COVID-19 using methods developed by Stanford Medicine.

• Waiting rooms and clinics are arranged for physical distancing.

• Every individual entering our facilities is given a mask and screened for symptoms of COVID-19. Those with symptoms are directed to a separate waiting area.

• A restricted visitor policy and expanded access to video visits limit the number of people passing through.

• Appointment check-in is available through the MyHealth app, reducing patient queues and use of shared devices. • Medical teams have sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), including gowns, gloves, and masks.

• Patients are tested before all procedures and surgeries and when visiting the emergency room. • Enhanced cleaning measures are in place, utilizing chemicals and UV light. • Specialized filtration systems eliminate the circulation of airborne contaminants.

We are prepared to provide healthcare through this crisis, with safe in-person care and convenient video visits.

To learn more about how we are adapting care, visit: stanfordhealthcare.org/resumingcare

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July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 3

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Community leaders host frank discussion on racism in Menlo Park By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer

Magali Gauthier

Eric Woodman hands a bouquet of carnations to his wife, Marty, who has Alzheimer’s disease, through a fence at Silver Oaks Memory Care in Menlo Park, with help from Linda Mittelstadt, the activity director, and Paula Trujillo, a caregiver, on April 15. A new county order issued Wednesday will allow limited visits at long-term care facilities to resume this week.

New county order allows limited visits at long-term care facilities By Embarcadero Media and CalMatters staff

an Mateo County on Tuesday reported 89 new cases of COVID-19, raising its total to 4,254. The death toll has stayed at 114 since Monday. Sixty-two people were hospitalized as of Tuesday. Santa Clara County reported 192 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its total to 6,725 on Tuesday. Three

more people have died, raising the death toll to 170. There are 144 people hospitalized, 21 of which are new. View more data online through our interactive charts by visiting paloaltoonline.atavist.com/ tracking-the-coronavirus.

County permits visits at care facilities Long-term care facilities in San Mateo County can now

accommodate outdoor visits that are scheduled ahead of time and indoor visits under limited, “necessary” circumstances under a new health order issued Wednesday. The new order, which was set to go into effect at 11:59 p.m. on July 15, allows family members and friends to visit nursing home residents as long as they follow county safety measures, See CORONAVIRUS, page 15

Council sets new priorities to slash greenhouse gas emissions citywide By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer

o work toward an ambitious goal of making Menlo Park carbon neutral by 2030, the Menlo Park City Council voted Tuesday night to move forward with an updated climate action plan. Menlo Park may be the first city in the U.S. to set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2030, according to Menlo Park environmental nonprofit Menlo Spark. The city aims to do this

by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90% from 2005 levels and focusing on carbon removal efforts for the remaining 10%. Since the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout associated with it struck, the city’s Environmental Quality Commission, which has been developing recommendations for the plan, has narrowed the scope of the project from 77 strategies to six, for now. The updated climate action plan would replace the city’s current goal, which is to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions to 27% below 2005 levels by 2020. The most current data, from 2017, indicates the city has reduced emissions by about 18.6%. The new climate action plan would call on Menlo Park to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% of 2005 levels by 2030, to about 34,900 tons down from 349,000 tons in 2005. This would be done by dramatically cutting the See EMISSIONS, page 16

group of local community leaders recently convened virtually to broach a challenging topic: What can be done to combat racism in the Menlo Park community? The panelists were East Palo Alto City Councilman Larry Moody, Assistant District Attorney James Wade, former Menlo College provost and author Terri Givens and Michelle Smedley, a Menlo Park mother of a biracial son who made a post on the neighborhood-based social networking site Nextdoor that triggered nearly 200 responses and more than 100 comments from local residents. In an interview, Smedley told The Almanac about what she and her family have gone through over the last six months or so. “I was wondering if I should make a big deal out of it,” she said. “On the other hand, people had no qualms about making him feel uncomfortable.” She said that since February, the police had been called on her 15-year-old biracial son and his friends twice, and that he’d been affected by the experience. He declined to be interviewed for this story. The first experience was in a local Safeway with his friends, when a white teen called him the n-word. With his friends’ encouragement, he asked the white teen not to say that word. The white teen’s mom was watching via FaceTime and she called the boys thugs and phoned the police. Smedley said her son and his friends were terrified and ran out to the parking lot to discuss what had happened. Smedley chastised the boys, telling them never to run away, and to remain calm and keep their hands out of their pockets in the presence of law enforcement officers. The police officers handled the incident and let the boys go, she said. “It really got to him,” Smedley said later. “It honestly shook them to the core ... It’s so sad when it happens, and you just thought the community was better than that.”

Another time, Smedley’s son was at a nearby duck pond in Menlo Park when a middleaged man swore at him and told him he did not belong there. He responded that he lives in the neighborhood and to go ahead and call the police because he did nothing wrong. The man did call the Menlo Park police, who dealt with it professionally and told her son he could go and that he’d done nothing wrong, Smedley said. A third incident occurred when her son was walking his dog on the trails at Sharon Hills Park on the Valparaiso Avenue hill when he was told he didn’t belong there. He responded by saying, “I live here with my dog. If you really feel uncomfortable, call the police,” Smedley said. And most recently, the driver of a vehicle recorded her son while he was walking down Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park. All of the events have happened in the last six months or so, since her son had a growth spurt and doesn’t look like a little kid anymore, she said. The first time it happened, he and his friends were traumatized, she said. During the panel discussion held July 9, several of the panelists who are also parents commiserated. Moody, a parent of four sons, said that he and his wife, Lisa, had coached their sons since they were young about how to interact with the police. People who have harmed Smedley’s family by making them feel uncomfortable in their own neighborhood should have an opportunity to make amends, Moody said. Knowing that there are people in the neighborhood who wish you weren’t there, “That’s a hard thing to have to live with,” he said. Givens has two biracial sons and responded on Nextdoor to Smedley that she wasn’t surprised but was disheartened by the neighbors’ behaviors. She jogs and walks through her neighborhood, near Las Lomitas Elementary School, and worries that people think she doesn’t See RACISM, page 12

July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 5

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Portola Valley council approves George Floyd resolution, looks at policing

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NEWSROOM Editor Andrea Gemmet (223-6537) Assistant Editors Julia Brown (223-6531) Heather Zimmerman (223-6515) Staff Writers Kate Bradshaw (223-6536) Tyler Callister (223-6588) Angela Swartz (223-6529) Contributors Kate Daly, Maggie Mah Special Sections Editor Linda Taaffe (223-6511) Chief Visual Journalist Magali Gauthier (223-6530) DESIGN & PRODUCTION Design and Production Manager Kristin Brown (223-6562) Designers Linda Atilano, Amy Levine, Paul Llewellyn, Doug Young ADVERTISING Vice President Sales and Marketing Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Display Advertising Sales (223-6570) Real Estate Manager Neal Fine (223-6583) Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan (223-6578) ADVERTISING SERVICES Advertising Services Manager Kevin Legarda (223-6597) Sales & Production Coordinators Diane Martin (223-6584), Nico Navarrete (223-6582) The Almanac is published every Friday at 3525 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Q Newsroom: (650) 223-6525 Newsroom Fax: (650) 223-7525 Q Email news and photos with captions to: Editor@AlmanacNews.com Q Email letters to: Letters@AlmanacNews.com Q Advertising: (650) 854-2626 Advertising Fax: (650) 223-7570 Q Classified Advertising: (650) 854-0858 Q Submit Obituaries: AlmanacNews.com/obituaries The Almanac (ISSN 1097-3095 and USPS 459370) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025-6558. Periodicals Postage Paid at Menlo Park, CA and at additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for San Mateo County, The Almanac is delivered free to homes in Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Almanac, 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025-6558. Copyright ©2020 by Embarcadero Media, All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Almanac is qualified by decree of the Superior Court of San Mateo County to publish public notices of a governmental and legal nature, as stated in Decree No. 147530, issued November 9, 1969. Subscriptions are $60 for one year and $100 for two years. Go to AlmanacNews.com/circulation. To request free delivery, or stop delivery, of The Almanac in zip code 94025, 94027, 94028 and the Woodside portion of 94062, call 854-2626.

he Portola Valley Town Council on June 24 followed up on its work to engage the community about police reform and racial inequality, a discussion that turned tense over a resolution condemning the murder of George Floyd. The council also approved its interim fiscal year 2020-21 budget. At its June 10 meeting, the council created a subcommittee, made up of Vice Mayor Maryann Derwin and Councilman John Richards, to start a dialogue with residents and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office about police reform in Portola Valley and other cities that contract with the Sheriff’s Office for police services. The council members indicated they would request Sheriff’s Office data on interactions between its deputies and people they pull over, including information on race. Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody in May has spurred protests worldwide and calls for police reform and reallocation of law enforcement funding. It has also led local cities and police departments to reexamine use-of-force policies. The Atherton Police Department has modified its policy surrounding chokeholds and carotid restraints, only permitting them when an officer’s life is endangered. The Palo Alto City Council earlier this month

moved toward adopting the “8 Can’t Wait” platform, a set of eight policies regarding use of force, launched an educational series with online briefings and may consider combining its police and fire agencies into a single Department of Public Safety. Portola Valley’s subcommittee said in a report that it wants to pursue the creation of a Sheriff’s Office citizens oversight board, and that Town Manager Jeremy Dennis has begun engaging with other cities that contract with the Sheriff’s Office. It’s exploring options for readings and events “that allow residents to engage fully with experts and those impacted by these issues,” and the town has created an online portal for residents to share their thoughts on race, policing and equity. All comments and ideas are available for viewing, and the town will not moderate or participate in it. The subcommittee will review all submitted thoughts to use as part of its ongoing work, according to the town. The portal, which went live July 8, can be accessed at tinyurl. com/pvconversation. It is also available in Spanish at tinyurl. com/pvconversationspanish. The resolution was ultimately adopted by the Town Council, but not before it was revised following public comment. The document condemned Floyd’s killing and was written to serve as an “affirmation of our commitment to the respectful

AT HERTON BRIEF

Atherton appoints committee members At its meeting on June 17, Atherton’s City Council appointed community members to its town commissions and committees. But the town is still seeking to fill open positions in the Rail Committee and Environmental Programs Committee, according to Anthony Suber, the deputy city manager and city clerk. In a meeting that also saw the council review its annual budget as the fiscal year came to a close, the council voted to appoint new members or reinstate incumbents to the Planning Commission, along with the Park and Recreation, Audit and Finance, Bike and Pedestrian, Rail, and Transportation committees. All terms end June 30, with the years noted in parenthesis. They are: Audit and Finance Kate Scolnick (2024); Walter Sleeth (incumbent, 2023) Bike and Pedestrian David M. Jones (2024) Park and Recreation Matt Baker (2024); Frank Merrill (2022) Planning Commission Eric Lane (incumbent, 2022); Nancy Lerner (incumbent, 2024) Rail Jim Janz (incumbent, 2024); Jack Ringham (incumbent, 2024) Transportation Tom Owen (2024); Sriram Lyer (incumbent, 2024) —Tyler Callister

6 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

treatment of all human beings,” but residents took issue with a portion at the end that stated the town would “take a long, hard look at our own policies and ordinances that perpetuate and maintain the racial and economic divide in Portola Valley with the hope that we may truly welcome people of different economic and racial backgrounds into our community.” Rita Comes, an African American resident, said that portion of the resolution made it sound as if “there is no diversity in this town.” “There are a lot of people that have lived in this town their whole lives. Maybe they’re property rich, but they don’t have a million dollars in the bank,” she said. “I don’t feel Portola Valley is just a racist place with no diversity ... I think there should be more voices before something like this is put out to the world saying, ‘This is who we are and we have to make changes because this is how we are.’” Comes also called on town staff to change a line in the staff report that referred to “deadly force incidents resulting in the tragic death of mentally challenged people of color.” “As a person of color, I’m offended that that’s there that way,” she said. Resident Rusty Day took issue with the resolution’s assertion that the town has existing policies that “perpetuate and maintain the racial and economic divide in Portola Valley.” “When we have two council members say that they’ve already concluded that the effect of our general plan and ordinances is to perpetuate and maintain economic exclusion and racial exclusion in town, we see we’ve already got a bias in the Town Council,” he said. “The resolution is not saying whether our ordinances and general plan maintain and perpetuate, it’s saying that they do, you’ve reached your mind.” “Maybe you don’t see what’s going on in the world,” Day added, speaking to Richards and Derwin. “Maybe you need to reach out and make an effort to go beyond your attitudes, your bias, your judgment, and elicit the opinion of others in town, especially others of different racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds who haven’t been on the Town Council for 10 years.” Richards said the language in the resolution “was not to say we have ordinances perpetuating anything, from my standpoint; it was more looking into our

ordinances and what we have on our books and seeing if we have any that we might want to look at.” The final, edited resolution now states that the town will look at its own policies that “may perpetuate and maintain the racial and economic divide in Portola Valley with the hope that we may truly welcome more people of different economic and racial backgrounds into our community.” Interim budget approved

At the same meeting, the council adopted an interim budget for the first three months of the 2020-21 fiscal year, which began July 1. The temporary budget uses the adopted revenues and expenditures from the 2019-20 budget, as the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic will not be fully understood until later this summer, according to town staff. The budget will be revised for review and adoption by the council in September. The interim budget, using the 2019-20 figures, projects identical revenues and expenditures in the amount of $7.89 million. Staff noted the town’s capital improvement plan has been significantly reduced “to only those items recommended for inclusion for work this summer.” Town staff had previously said that the pandemic has caused sales tax revenue to drop significantly due to business closures, and revenue associated with rentals, instructors and field use has ceased. There has also been less revenue from land use permits and affiliated fees, the town’s second-largest general fund revenue source based on 2019-20 projections. Two council seats up for reelection

The council also declared an election in November for two seats up for reelection. Mayor Jeff Aalfs has confirmed he will run for reelection, while Councilwoman Ann Wengert told The Almanac she plans to announce her decision in mid-July. Aalfs was appointed to the council in 2011 after running unopposed. He previously served as mayor in 2015. Wengert was also appointed to the council after running unopposed in 2007. She served as mayor in 2009, 2014 and 2019. A Email Julia Brown at jbrown@almanacnews.com

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Parents’ community forum explores equality in education during pandemic By Tyler Callister Almanac Staff Writer

ver 200 San Mateo County community members tuned in to a virtual community forum Monday night with a single goal in mind: Ensure equal access to education for diverse populations living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Presented by Innovate Public Schools — a statewide nonprofit advocating for equity in education — the Zoombroadcast event delved into wide-ranging equality issues in schools given the ongoing

impacts of the coronavirus. Moderator Nora Melendez led a panel of local leaders from the San Mateo County Office of Education —Superintendent Nancy Magee, board president Hector Camacho, and board members Ted Lempert and Joe Ross — in the evening’s digital event which was called “Parents at the Table!” Event billing described the community forum’s raison d’etre: Already-behind student populations — such as minority, low-income or special needs — may be falling back further academically while having to learn from home during

countywide school closures. African American, Latino, Pacific Islander and lowincome communities have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, event organizers said. “Students have already lost months of learning. Distance learning will continue this fall. It is our priority to ensure that these students do not fall irreparably behind.” COVID-19, which has already kept all San Mateo County students at home since midMarch, is keeping school districts on edge over the fate of the fall semester.

One presentation by district parents Leasina Tau and Ben Packer cited a study by Portland-based research organization NWEA, which estimated that students could lose up to 50% of their learning in math during the school closures. “During a normal summer, students from third to eighth grade typically lose 15% to 30% of the gains made in math... In the time of COVID-19, researchers concluded that students could lose up to 50% of the learning gains made in math, with fifth graders potentially returning to school almost a full year

behind,” Tau said. When asked by a community member what his top priority is for schools opening in the fall, Ross said, “What I want to see is a commitment to the highest quality of education for all students, regardless of whether it’s online or in-person. I think we have to not give up because it’s hard or unprecedented.” Melendez polled the audience and it was decided that participants wanted to hold a followup forum at a future date, yet to be determined. More information is at innovateschools.org. A

Woman arrested in 1993 homicide of her daughter By Sue Dremann

wenty-seven years after a 3-year-old girl was found unresponsive in her family’s East Palo Alto home, investigators have arrested her mother in connection with the homicide, the Police Department announced on July 8. Yolanda Ortega, who was 27 years old at the time, fled to Mexico with her husband prior to the San Mateo County Coroner Office’s determination of the child’s cause of death. Paramedics were dispatched to the family home in the 2300 block of Ralmar Avenue in East

Palo Alto on June 28, 1993, at around 11:55 a.m. The child was transported to Stanford Hospital where she died at 12:43 p.m., police said. Two brothers and the sister of the girl, ages 1, 4 and 17 days old, were released to county Child Protective Services at the time. Investigators from East Palo Alto police, the San Mateo County Sheriff ’s Office, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service have been involved in an ongoing investigation, police said. San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Trisha Povah, who is handling the

case, said Ortega would be charged with one count each of murder and child abuse causing great bodily injury or death for the homicide of Yoani Sanchez. The Coroner’s Office determined she died from blunt-force trauma. Ortega faces 25 years to life in prison. Ortega has traveled back and forth between Mexico and the U.S., Povah said. The Marshals Service Fugitive Apprehension Team located Ortega, now 54 years old, on July 7 at about 5:30 p.m. after she entered a shopping center parking lot in Oxnard, a city in Ventura County about 70

miles west of Los Angeles. She was arrested and booked into jail, according to police. “From what I have seen and heard, the cause of death was absolutely horrendous. I’m thrilled they caught her,” Povah said. East Palo Alto police pursued the case for years. They did “incredible work,” she said. The collaboration with the U.S. Marshals was “a really impressive effort,” she added. “The East Palo Alto Police Department is committed to investigating homicide cases and will follow every lead to locate and arrest any suspect that commits a homicide in

our city,” the department said a press release. Ortega was initially held in custody in Oxnard while awaiting a transfer to San Mateo County, Povah said. The 54-year-old woman was arraigned in San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City on Monday, July 13, when her bail was set at $10 million and the county’s Private Defender Prog ra m was assigned to represent the case. She is scheduled to return to court on July 21 for a plea hearing. A Email Sue Dremann at sdremann@paweekly.com

San Mateo County dedicates $2M to Immigrant Relief Fund By Kate Bradshaw

eople who have not qualified for the state and federal coronavirus-related relief programs due to their immigration status now have a potential tool to access help. The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on July 7 launched the San Mateo County Immigrant Relief Fund and voted unanimously to contribute $2 million in Measure K funds to it. Measure K funds come from a countywide half-cent sales tax. The fund also has a $5 million contribution from local developer John Sobrato and $1.7 million from other private donors, according to a county statement. The board also agreed that in a month it would discuss

contributing additional funds for the program after hearing stories from a number of households in the county that have struggled to deal with rent costs as people have been unable to work due to pandemic-related closures or child care needs while schools are closed. The economic downturn from the pandemic has hit Hispanic women, immigrants, young adults and those with less education particularly hard, according to a June report from the Pew Research Center. During the pandemic, about 19% of foreign-born workers — compared with 12% of U.S.-born workers — have lost their jobs, according to the report, which

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July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 7

N E W S

Police confiscate over 1,300 pounds of fireworks in East Palo Alto By Sue Dremann

series of operations to tamp down on illegal fireworks in East Palo Alto led police officers to confiscate 1,304 pounds of the devices and arrest nine people over the course of June and July, according to a report released last week. The city, as elsewhere throughout the Bay Area and the country, has struggled with an unprecedented fireworks problem since early May as people sought to relieve their boredom and community fireworks shows were canceled due to stay-at-home orders as the number of COVID-19 cases grow. From May 1 through July 5, the department received 944 calls regarding fireworks compared to 243 calls during the same time in 2019 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a 288% increase

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; according to police data. ShotSpotter activations, which measure gunfire, recorded eight incidents this year compared to three last year. The fireworks seizures prevented 25,164 discharges. Police also seized 7 pounds of marijuana and two firearms, according to the police department report. The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fireworks Task Force Team of two officers and a sergeant had support from the San Mateo County District Attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, San Mateo County Sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, state Division of Adult Parole Operations, San Mateo County Probation Department and other law enforcement agencies. They issued six search warrants and two probation searches and made one traffic stop, altogether confiscating 704 pounds of fireworks. The latter alone netted more than 110 pounds. In

addition, on July 4, law enforcement confiscated about 600 pounds of illegal fireworks on the streets. The warrants and probation searches also uncovered an M-80 explosive, a handgun with high-capacity magazines and 5 pounds of marijuana, including marijuana edibles. Four of the nine people arrested were also taken in for allegedly making felony threats or assaulting officers. One of the individuals made a threat after being approached over a single, already discharged â&#x20AC;&#x153;Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seriesâ&#x20AC;? firework emblazoned with a presidential seal showing a figure with hair similar to President Donald Trump. Under California health and safety codes, possession of a gross weight of fireworks under 25 pounds, including packaging, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail. The quantities seized in many of these arrests rise to the level of felonies, however, which can carry sentences of up to three years in state prison and up to $50,000 fines. Here is a breakdown of the seizures and arrests.

Courtesy East Palo Alto Police Department

East Palo Alto police officers located nearly 107 pounds of fireworks in the 2400 block of Fordham Street, where they served a search warrant. Q 400 block of Garden Street: 74.1 pounds of fireworks and one arrest. Q 2300 block Palo Verde Avenue: Multiple spent fireworks found in a trash receptacle and no arrests. Q 2200 block University Avenue: One discharged firework and one arrest for threatening officers.

Probation searches: Warrants: Q 2400 block of Fordham Street:

106.86 pounds of fireworks and one arrest. Q 400 block of Wisteria Drive: 145.35 pounds of fireworks, 5 pounds of marijuana and one arrest. Q 2200 block of Euclid Avenue: 77.36 pounds of fireworks, one explosive device, one firearm, thousands of dollars in cash and three arrests.

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GOVERNOR continued from page 1

COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon until there is a vaccine or an effective therapy,â&#x20AC;? Newsom said. The governor has often compared the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ever-evolving coronavirus response to a

LEHUA GREENMAN

"Faith and Joy are just as contagious as Fear and Panic. Choose well." 650.245.1845

8 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

Q 2300 block of Dumbarton Avenue: 190 pounds of fireworks, case referred to the District Attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office. Q 600 block of Runnymede Street: One fireworks device and one arrest.

Vehicle stops: Q 1700 block of Bay Road: fireworks: 110.93 pounds, one arrest East Palo Alto police Chief Al

dimmer switch, with the state opening and closing sectors of the economy as the virusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; spread ebbs and flows. Newsom said Mondayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restrictions on indoor activities were driven in part by an influx of coronavirus patients in intensive care units in the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rural areas like Lake, Butte and Placer counties. State health officials have also observed a shortage of ventilators in areas like Imperial County. Newsom said the state has some 10,000 ventilators available, but such shortages are still concerning. Coronavirus hospitalizations have risen by about 28% over the last two weeks, from 5,077 on June 29 to 6,485 as of Sunday. In the last week, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seven-day average of positive coronavirus tests rose from

Pardini indicated during a June 29 tri-city community forum of police and fire chiefs and elected leaders from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Palo Alto that he would release data on the investigations after July 4. The chiefs and city officials said that the Fourth of July actions would be only part of an ongoing effort in the coming months to try to change the culture around massive fireworks displays by residents and celebratory gunfire, which have caused injuries and property damage. Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said last week that fireworks caused a detached garage fire in eastern Menlo Park. In a separate incident, a 20-year-old man was injured by glass after fireworks were set off in a bottle. A Email Sue Dremann at sdremann@paweekly.com

7,876 on July 6 to 8,211 on Monday. The stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s positivity rate has also continued trending north of 7% even as the number of tests across the state has surpassed 100,000 per day. While the virus reasserts itself, Newsom expressed confidence in the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to tame it as it did in May, provided that residents continue following health and safety guidelines by wearing face coverings and maintaining their physical distance from others. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were able to suppress the spread of this virus, we were going to knock down the growth of this in the beginning,â&#x20AC;? Newsom said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to do that again â&#x20AC;&#x201D; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no doubt in my mind.â&#x20AC;? A Lloyd Lee contributed to this report.

N E W S

COVID-19 treatments, vaccines could be ready by early 2021, Fauci tells Stanford Medicine By Sue Dremann

he prognosis for getting a handle on the deadly COVID-19 disease currently escalating in the United States could be good if the public is responsible for its actions and if scientific breakthroughs continue this year, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a half-hour virtual interview with Stanford Medicine on Monday, July 13. Fauci, in conversation with Dr. Lloyd Minor, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, minced no words in describing the task ahead, but he offered several bits of encouraging news. Treatments for managing the coronavirus will continue to grow and could help control the disease in its beginning phases as soon as this fall. One or more vaccines might be available by early 2021, he said. But Fauci warned that this virus is daunting, and surprising even to an expert such as he, who has fought a pantheon of infectious diseases during his more than three decades as the nation’s top infectious disease expert. “This is truly historic. We haven’t even begun to see the end of it yet,” Fauci said of COVID-19. “It’s still globally trending. Some countries are doing better than others, but until you get it completely under control, it’s still going to be a threat. It is truly unprecedented.” “We’re doing what we can. Of all the emerging infectious diseases I’ve had to deal with in the 36 years that I’ve been the director of the institute, starting off with HIV in the early ‘80s, with Ebola and Zika, this is clearly the most challenging. It’s the most challenging because it’s so pervasive. It is truly a global pandemic of unprecedented — when I say unprecedented, back to (the) 1918 historical pandemic. I think 50 years from now, people are going to be reflecting historically on this the way we used to reflect on the 1918 outbreak,” he said of the influenza pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people or more worldwide. COVID-19 is “protean” in its scope because it affects so many people in so many ways, from exhibiting no symptoms to mild symptoms, hospitalization, death and for some who survive, protracted illness, long-term disability and organ failure, he said.

Courtesy Stanford Medicine livestream

Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking to the dean of Stanford Medicine Monday, is the nation’s top infectious disease expert.

Minor avoided the current controversy between Fauci and the White House’s often conflicting messaging regarding mask wearing and social distancing. The closest allusion was perhaps in Fauci’s reference to the United States being in an “era of anti-vaccination and anti-science.” But the situation could be completely turned around with the development of a safe and effective vaccine, he said. Before then, in the absence of a vaccine, the only means to stop the virus is to physically separate people to the point of not allowing the virus to transmit, he said. Fauci does not advocate for the types of draconian measures that have successfully halted the disease’s progress in some other countries. The stayat-home orders clearly helped reduce the number of infections in the United States, but the country has opened too soon and too drastically, resulting in the surges now taking place in many states, including California, he said. “We gave a set of guidelines a few months ago that had good checkpoints (phases 1, 2 and 3) unfortunately, it did not work very well for us. ... The increase that we are seeing, we can get a handle on that. I am really confident we can if we step back. We don’t necessarily have to shut down again, but pull back a bit and then proceed in a very prudent way observing the guidelines and going step by step. All you need to do is look at the (videos) of people in some states going from shutdown to completely throwing caution to the wind: bars that were crowded, people without masks. There are things you can do now: physical distancing, wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, washing hands. Those things, as simple as they are, can turn it around,” he said.

Asked by Minor to grade the Bay Area on its efforts to control the outbreak, Fauci said Texas and California are so large and so varied, that he could not make a definitive statement. “California is a bit of a mixed bag,” he said, although the Bay Area is doing better than other areas of the state such as the southern California border where there is a higher percentage of vulnerable populations. He said that Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing “a very good job,” as are some mayors. Fauci said there are a few impor tant developments regarding drug developments and he is hopeful for a vaccine. Remdesivir, an experimental antiviral drug that was originally developed to treat Ebola, and dexamethasone, a corticosteroid used as an immunosuppressant and antiinflammatory, are two medications that clearly are working in hospital settings with severely ill COVID patients, according to Fauci. But he said there needs to be other medications to treat the virus in its earlier stages, and a few are being developed, including direct antiviral drugs, convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies. The latter can bind to specific molecules on the outside of a cell and can, among other things, block specific molecule functions on the virus. “I believe we are on a good track to get there reasonably soon,” he said. By fall, conceivably there could be good antiviral and antibody therapies and potentially, vaccines. “One or two will go into Phase 3 clinical trials, which evaluate the overall risks and benefits of the drugs, at the end of this month. “So we are pretty cautiously optimistic that by the end of the year ... by 2021, we will have, I hope, one or more vaccines that

will be available,” he said. The manufacturers are taking the unusual step of producing large amounts of doses before the drugs’ proven safety and effectiveness in order to be ready if the vaccines are approved, he said. If the drugs fail, that would cost any millions of dollars, but if successful, the country would gain many months toward widespread vaccination, he said. Vaccines are essential to controlling the virus, he said. The distribution of vaccines would undergo a process to determine the ethics of who should have access to a limited supply. Asked how he would address getting people who are resistant to being vaccinated to comply, Fauci said community engagement through “boots on the ground” messaging would have to be done by people who look like the communities they are trying to reach — like the community did when battling HIV, he said. Fauci did not commit to a position regarding his views on

a national face mask requirement, saying instead that enforcement by the federal government would not likely be effective and might better be dealt with locally. He had a message for young people, however, to think outside of their “vacuum” and to realize that if they don’t mask up, even if they don’t show symptoms of the virus, “almost certainly you are going to infect someone else” and that person will infect others. At some point, someone will become infected who may become highly sick and could die, he said. A poor public health infrastructure, which has languished for many years, has also contributed to the existing crisis, he said. The impact of those lapses are also evident in the staggering statistics related to people of color, who disproportionately bear the brunt of COVID-19 infections, he said. The country hasn’t made much progress See FAUCI, page 12

MENLO B R I E F S

City plans to begin search for interim police chief The city of Menlo Park is planning to recruit an interim police chief to replace Chief Dave Bertini, who made a surprise announcement in June that he planned to retire. City staff want whoever is recruited as the city’s interim police chief to help study and implement police reforms that are being considered for the department. Among them are to review the police department’s use-of-force policies, conduct more frequent racial and cultural diversity trainings, have a consultant review the reforms, collect community input, analyze the use of mutual aid within and outside the Menlo Park Police Department, and consider reallocating the funds Facebook gives to the city for policing for other public safety purposes. One attendee at the council’s July 14 meeting suggested the funds go instead toward the city’s climate action plan. In the long term, the city could also explore models for reallocating police resources toward social services, evaluate models to reorganize the police department as a public safety department, consider establishing an independent police advisory committee and consider ways to use budget funds to support racial, educational, housing, health and safety equity. The council was set to consider such policies and a number of additional reforms throughout the city to eliminate bias and promote racial equity at its meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 16, after The Almanac went to press. Go to almanacnews.com for the latest information.

$5 million for flood control The city of Menlo Park received a $5 million grant from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to demolish the Chrysler Stormwater Pump Station near the Bay and replace it with three new pumps. The project is intended to provide protection for the city against a 100-year flood event. The current stormwater pump is about 60 years old and can barely keep pace with the flooding that comes out of more frequent 10-year storms, according to a press release from FEMA. The project costs $10.3 million, with the rest of the funding coming primarily from city funds, plus a $500,000 contribution by the Bohannon Development Corp. to design and build the exterior of the pump station. —Kate Bradshaw July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 9

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July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 11

N E W S RACISM continued from page 5

belong there. She said she had to tell her boys that they, unlike boys who are white, cannot play outside with toy guns. The conversation happened around the time that Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African American boy playing with a fake gun, was shot by Cleveland police in 2014, she recalled. Wade, who is Black, grew up in the area and attended San Mateo High School. He said he was racially profiled by law enforcement officers just for walking down the street in certain neighborhoods when he was younger. “Back then it was different,” he said. “Law enforcement did not treat us professionally, in my estimation.” He said he’s worked to bring a minority perspective to the county District Attorney’s Office. Smedley said the experiences her son has gone through have made him wary of going out in the community and doing what other teens get to do, like wear hoodies and beanies. “If I go out like that I’m just going to be a target,” she said her son told her. “Why is that?” Smedley asked. “Why can every other kid in town wear that that’s white, but the other kids can’t?” Her son also is afraid of learning to drive because he mainly sees people of color being pulled over in Menlo Park, she added. Wade sympathized — about a decade ago, he and two other Black colleagues in the legal field shared that they had each been racially profiled by law enforcement officers. “It didn’t feel good,” he said. “I bring this story up only to tell them that they’re not alone, and there are individuals that are trying to do something about it.” RELIEF FUND continued from page 7

cites U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. Hispanic women have seen the greatest employment decrease compared to white, Black and Asian groups of both sexes during the pandemic at 21%. Individuals or families who share finances will be eligible to receive a target amount of assistance of $1,000 and a maximum of $2,000, according to county documents. People are eligible for assistance if they didn’t qualify for a federal coronavirus stimulus check, earned less than $99,000 or had a household income of less than $198,000 in 2019 and experienced an

Magali Gauthier

Local passersby have racially profiled and called the police on a biracial Menlo Park teen twice in recent months, his mother Michelle Smedley said at a forum on racism held July 9.

He said he talks to students, teachers and law enforcement officers and tries to help them understand “that this is not the way to do police work.” Racial profiling of East Palo Alto residents used to be more blatant, said Moody. He said his sons were regularly followed by police officers while just driving around their neighborhood. “I think the conversation needs to center itself on ... what experiences our young people are having and what we can do about changing those experiences.” “Those types of interruption in a person’s life will stick with you for a long time,” he said. He talked about how, in 2008, then-Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson was urged to resign after instructing police officers to make “consensual contact” with Black men wearing do-rags because that was part of the description of suspects in a series of robberies at the time. Many East Palo Alto residents, especially young people of color, felt racially profiled when they ventured into Palo Alto, Moody said. income disruption because of the pandemic. To administer the program, the county is working with the San Francisco-based Mission Asset Fund, which will distribute the funds after identifying, screening and prioritizing recipients, and with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, which will help with referrals and aid with applications. The plan is to distribute the funds as soon as possible and by the end of the year, according to the county’s resolution. Go to is.gd/immigrantfund for more information and to access a pre-application questionnaire. A Email Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@almanacnews.com

12 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

Palo Alto’s next police chief after Johnson, Dennis Burns, made it a priority to engage with East Palo Alto and make sure that residents knew they could safely go into Palo Alto, Moody said. “It took that type of leadership to become better neighbors,” Moody said. “Many of our young people continue to frequent Palo Alto for a wide range of services and activities. If that situation was left undone and (Palo Alto) didn’t initiate a response ... we don’t know what damage that might have done (to) our young community’s psyche going forward.” The panelists also talked about potential solutions to tackle structural racism ñ the racism that is embedded in laws and institutions — as well as the individual racism of some community members. “We all live in these structures that are racist,” Givens said. People should think twice about their own thoughts and biases when interacting with people of other races, she said. “Why would somebody think a kid sitting in the park doesn’t belong there? Why do police FAUCI continued from page 9

addressing those disparities, he noted. Although advances on HIV control steadily gained since the 1980s, African Americans, who represent 13% of the population, account for 45% of new HIV cases today, he said. It’s the same with COVID-19, he said. The African American population and the Latino population “find themselves with jobs that don’t allow them to properly protect themselves. As everybody’s locking down, they’re doing the essential jobs that require their physical presence, so they’re immediately at more risk of getting infected,” he said. The prevalence and incidence

tend to pull over Black people and others with more regularity? These things are all part of our history. We have to understand the history and unconscious bias that happens. It really does impact every single one of us,” she said. She added that she’d also favor the creation of a unified school district. “That’s a different can of worms,” she added. The panelists talked about programs like Police Activities Leagues, which operate in Redwood City and East Palo Alto, but not in Menlo Park, that can help police officers and local youth get to know each other. They also discussed the need for data on police stops, broken down by race. Menlo Park Councilman Ray Mueller convened the panel, and he and Mayor Cecilia Taylor comoderated it. Mueller said he’d be interested in changing the threshold for officers to pull over vehicles by focusing traffic stops less on problems like having a taillight out or expired registration stickers. Taylor said she wants to change the definition of what constitutes a hate crime in

Menlo Park. Menlo Park can’t necessarily create its own systems for enforcing those particular policies since enforcement is tied to the California penal code, Wade said. But if the city were to collect evidence that traffic stops were happening disproportionately to drivers of color in Menlo Park, the District Attorney’s Office would look into it and could develop a remedial action, he said. Moody concluded that there is a “perfect storm” of factors converging to drive change in the community: The mayor is planning a meeting on police reform; a local resident is really concerned about the community in which her son is being raised; the community is working to be respectful of that resident’s family and her son; and conversations about how to reckon with racism as a community are starting. “You have to commit to be at the table. ... I think if you do that, you’ll have the type of community you’ve always coveted,” he said. A Email Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@almanacnews.com

Magali Gauthier

People stroll along the duck pond at Sharon Park on July 15.

of underlying diseases such as diabetes, heart, chronic lung and kidney disease and hypertension make for a poor outcome if they contract COVID-19, he said. “It’s striking how disproportionately they are disadvantaged,” he said. “We have let the local public health infrastructure in our country really go into tatters,” he said. Instead, federal public health focused on successfully controlling subsets of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis, while local infrastructure went unattended. “It attenuated, and it attenuated, and now when we need good local public health capability, it’s not as good as it should be. We’ve got to build it up again,” he said. Fighting and preparing for

future pandemics, which are sure to come, will require rebuilding that public health system and thinking about research in different ways, such as developing avant-garde technologies ahead of potential pandemics and studying prototype pathogens to understand a particular family of diseases. Coronavirus is at the top of that list. The world is currently in its third coronavirus pandemic in the past 18 years, he said: in 2002, there was severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); in 2012, Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS), and in 2020, COVID-19, he said. A Email Sue Dremann at sdremann@paweekly.com

G U I D E TO 2020 S U M M E R C A M P S FO R K I D S • V I S I T PA LOA LTO O N L I N E .CO M /C A M P_CO N N E C T I O N

n n o e C c t p i on m a C

Please check directly with camps for updates and remote offerings. For more information about these camps visit paloaltoonline.com/camp_connection. To advertise in this weekly directory, call (650) 326-8210.

ACADEMICS

ARTS, CULTURE, OTHER CAMPS

Early Learning Institute

Palo Alto Pleasanton

Improve your student’s writing skills this summer at Emerson School of Palo Alto and Hacienda School of Pleasanton. Courses this year are Expository Writing, Creative Writing and Presentation Skills.

headsup.org

Emerson: (650) 424-1267 Hacienda: (925) 485-5750

Harker Summer Programs

San Jose

Castilleja Summer Camp for Girls Palo Alto

Palo Alto

castilleja.org/summercamp

in Monterey Bay. SO MUCH FUN!

(650) 470-7833

Community School of Music

Mountain View

harker.org/summer

arts4all.org

dedicated faculty and staff who are experts at combining summer fun and learning. Strong academics and inspiring enrichment

(408) 553-5737

i2 Camp at Castilleja School

Palo Alto

i2 Camp offers week-long immersion programs that engage middle school girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The fun and intimate hands-on activities of the courses strive to excite and inspire participants about STEM, creating enthusiasm that will hopefully spill over to their schoolwork and school choices in future years.

Palo Alto Monterey Bay

Fun and specialized Junior Camps for Mini (3-5), Beginner,

programs are offered in full day, partial and morning only sessions.

offer the perfect balance of learning and fun! Programs are led by

Kim Grant Tennis Summer Camps

Castilleja Summer Camp for Girls Palo Alto Casti Camp offers girls entering grades 2-6 a range of age-appropriate activities including athletics, art, science, computers, writing, crafts, cooking, drama and music classes each day along with weekly field trips. Leadership program available for girls entering grades 7-9.

Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) Mountain View 50+ creative camps for grades K-12! Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture, Musical Theater, Summer Music Workshops and more! One and two-week sessions; full and half-day enrollment. Extended care from 8:30am-5:30pm. Financial aid offered.

The Harker School’s summer programs for children K - grade 12

ATHLETICS

Intermediate, Advanced, High Performance and Elite tennis levels. Weekly programs designed by Kim Grant to improve player technique, fitness, agility, mental toughness and all around game. Weekly camps in Palo Alto and Sleep-Away Camps

KimGrantTennis.com

Text: (650) 690-0678 Call: (650) 752-8061

Nike Tennis Camps

Stanford University

Junior Overnight and Day Camps for boys & girls, ages 9-18 offered throughout June, July and August. Adult Weekend Clinics (June & Aug). Camps directed by Head Men’s Coach, Paul Goldstein, Head

(650) 917-6800 ext. 0

Women’s Coach, Lele Forood, and Associate Men’s and Women’s

Palo Alto

Coaches, Brandon Coupe and Frankie Brennan. Come join the fun

Let’s Go Crafting

Let’s Go Crafting’s Studio is where your child will have fun while learning many different fiber related arts. We teach sewing, knitting, crochet, weaving and jewelry making to children ages 8 to 15 years. AM or PM camps $275/week. Full day camps $550/ week. 5 student minimum for all sessions; 10 student maximum.

and get better this summer!

letsgocrafting.org

Run for Fun’s mission is to provide creative and engaging play for

(650) 814-4183

ussportscamps.com

(800) NIKE-CAMP (800) 645-3226

Run for Fun Camps

Bay Area

all youth by getting kids active in an inclusive community centered

Palo Alto

around outdoor fun! We pride ourselves on hiring an enthusiastic, highly trained staff who love what they do. Summer 2020 features

EXPLORE biomedical science at Stanford. Stanford EXPLORE

Camps at the OFJCC introduce your child to new experiences while creating friendships in a fun and safe environment. We work to build confidence, stretch imaginations and teach new skills.

offers high school students the unique opportunity to learn from

paloaltojcc.org/Camps

castilleja.org/i2camp

(650) 470-7833

STANFORD EXPLORE: A Lecture Series on Biomedical Research

Stanford

Stanford professors and graduate students about diverse topics in biomedical science, including bioengineering, neurobiology, immunology and many others.

explore.stanford.edu

explore-series@stanford.edu

Summer@Stratford

Palo Alto/Bay Area

Stratford infuses its STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) curriculum into an innovative and enriching summer camp experience. Younger campers learn, explore, and engage in hands-on learning projects, while Elementary-age students collaborate to tackle real-world problems by utilizing academic principles and concepts in a fun and engaging way. At the Middle School level, individual subject-based enrichment classes are offered and tailored for each grade level.

stratfordschools.com/summer pa@stratfordschools.com

(650) 493-1141

Palo Alto

Art, cooking, tinkering, yoga and mindfulness. We celebrate multiple perspectives and recognize the many ways for our children to interpret their world. Summer Unplugged! is appropriate for ages 6-11 years. Located at Walter Hays School.

artandsoulpa.com

Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC)

(650) 269-0423

(650) 223-8622

four weeks of Adventure Day Camp and two weeks of Overnight Camp High Five. Adventure Day Camp is a new discovery every day filled with sports, crafts and nature, including explorations to Camp Jones Gulch, Capitola Beach, Foothills Park, Shoreline Lake and Great America. Camp High Five is six days and five nights

Palo Alto

of traditional overnight camp mixed with challenge-by-choice

PACCC summer camps offer campers, grades 1st to 6th, a wide variety of engaging opportunities. We are excited to announce all of your returning favorites: Leaders in Training (L.I.T.), Camp YOUnique, F.A.M.E. (Fine Arts, Music and Entertainment), J.V. Sports, Operation: Chef and Chef Jr.! Periodic field trips, special visitors and many engaging camp activities, songs and skits round out the variety of offerings at PACCC Summer Camps. Open to campers from all communities. Register online.

activities, campfires, friendships and lots of laughter.

paccc.org

swimming is offered for all camps. The camp is run by MVHS

(650) 493-2361

runforfuncamps.com/summer-camps-and-schoolholiday-camps/camp-overview (650) 823-5167

Spartans Sports Camp

Mountain View

Spartans Sports Camp offers a wide variety of sports, performing arts, and academic enrichment camps for kids entering grades 1-9. Experienced staff ensures everyone has fun. Daily on-site coaches and student-athletes and all proceeds benefit the MVHS

ATHLETICS Dance Connection Palo Alto

ARTS, CULTURE, OTHER CAMPS Art and Soul Camp

Oshman Family JCC Camps

Athletic Department. Lunch and extended care are available for

Palo Alto

your convenience. Flexible cancellation policies.

Share the joy of dance with us! Our studio is an extended family and a “home away from home” for our community of children and teens. At Dance Connection, we value the positive energy and atmosphere that we continuously strive to provide. Summer Dance Camps include all styles of dance for ages 4 and up and features our new “This is Me!” Empowerment Camp along with Teen Jazz and Hip Hop Camps.

spartanssportscamp.com

(650) 479-5906

YMCA of Silicon Valley Summer Camps

Silicon Valley

danceconnectionpaloalto.com/dance-connectionevent-calendar/summer-dance-camps (650) 852-0418 or (650) 322-7032

your family. Sign up today, camps are filling up! Financial assistance

At the Y, children and teens of all abilities acquire new skills, make friends, and feel that they belong. With hundreds of Summer Day Camps plus Overnight Camps, you will find a camp that’s right for is available.

ymcasv.org/summercamp

(408) 351-6473

July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 13

N E W S COVID-19 CASES continued from page 1

not to be named. Even though the site has been busy, having to set up an appointment in advance may be deterring members of North Fair Oaks’ immigrant community from signing up to get tested for COVID-19, Rodriguez said. The pop-up site discourages walk-up testing requests, and the requirements to sign up online may be a technological barrier for some. Without being able to sign up in advance, people may not get tested until they are showing serious symptoms of COVID-19, he said. San Mateo County has contracted with Verily’s Project Baseline to administer free COVID-19 testing. It has set up roving testing sites throughout the county that people can access by appointment through the Project Baseline website. Verily is a subsidiary of Google and requires people to have a Google account and an email address to sign up for testing. As a volunteer interpreter at the testing site, Rodriguez said only one Latinx person showed up without an appointment, and it took about a half-hour to help him through the process of signing up to be tested, since he didn’t have an email address. “That’s a little crazy, and discouraging, of course,” he said. When asked to confirm the case count in North Fair Oaks,

county Health Department spokesperson Diana Rohini Lavigne said that the numbers were the most up to date available and that she did not want to speculate on the data. The county staff members who work with the COVID-19 data were too busy to provide an explanation by this news organization’s deadline, she said. The county was not able to provide information about the demographics of who has been tested at the North Fair Oaks testing site and whether they reflect those of the community. The health department sees the demographic disparities and is crafting its responses accordingly, said Dr. Louise Rogers, chief of San Mateo County Health, in a written statement. “We are aware of the issue of inequitable impact of COVID-19 and how this unprecedented pandemic is exposing known, longstanding underlying inequities in our healthcare system and social determinants of health,” she said. “Low-income, marginalized groups are prioritized for our deepest response as part of our approach to reducing gaps in access, engagement and equitable treatment,” she added. An information gap

While the reason for the relatively low case count in North Fair Oaks may remain without an official explanation, other rising numbers on the county’s

Data from San Mateo County Health/Embarcadero Media.

COVID-19 case counts have risen dramatically in several communities in San Mateo County in recent weeks, yet the number of cases in North Fair Oaks reported by the county has remained static. 14 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

Data from San Mateo County.

In San Mateo County, the proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases compared to the population overall is far higher among Latinx or Hispanic residents than in any other racial or ethnic group.

data dashboard are telling. “The numbers do speak for themselves,” said Slocum in an interview, referring to the disproportionately high rate of COVID-19 cases confirmed among Latinx and Hispanic community members. He said he observed a large party in the neighborhood over the Fourth of July weekend where he didn’t see anybody wearing a mask. Rodriguez said that one problem is that the community in North Fair Oaks doesn’t have an accessible, go-to spot for information about the community, even public health information. The county has good information on its website, but not everyone checks it, he said. As a result, he said, some people in the community had to learn about the face mask requirements when they were barred from entering grocery stores and other businesses. Language can be another barrier, he added. About 68% of North Fair Oaks residents speak Spanish at home, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Slocum said he was working with the county to get more culturally specific outreach materials, both regarding COVID-19 and the census this year. “We’re getting much better at targeting messages for specific communities — one size doesn’t fit all,” he said. In Menlo Park, the city has not made any specific outreach efforts to Hispanic and Latinx residents beyond disseminating information from the county health officer in Spanish and highlighting the county’s

COVID-19 testing site in East Palo Alto as a resource for residents, according to Nicole Acker, public information officer in Menlo Park. During the weeks of June 23 and June 30, the number of COVID-19 cases rose 62% in East Palo Alto, 44% in Redwood City and 11% in Menlo Park. Rodriguez said he thought the county should have started sooner to develop comprehensive outreach in his community. “In my view, the county may have started a little late,” he said. Other factors

Another factor facilitating the spread of COVID-19 in the Latinx and Hispanic community may be overcrowding. Latinx households are about 7.6 times more likely than white households to be overcrowded in California, according to a May report from the Public Policy Institute of California. California’s overcrowding rate is also more than double the national average at 8.3%. Economic factors are also shaping the disparate outcomes in infection rates, according to a study by University of California San Francisco and community partners earlier this year, in which widespread COVID-19 tests were conducted with a single census tract in San Francisco’s Mission District, where 95% of residents are Latinx. Early results published in May found that most of the people who tested positive were unable to work from home, earned less than $50,000 per year and lived in households of three to five people or more.

“The results so far suggest that those who are at highest risk for infection are those who cannot easily shelter in place due to job loss, furloughs, or because they are providing the essential services. Among those who tested positive, 90 percent reported being unable to work from home,” the report said. Many Latinx and immigrant residents of San Mateo County have been economically devastated by the pandemic, and many families are in “survival mode,” Slocum said. In several lower-income communities he represents, like Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks and East Palo Alto, “There are a lot of people that are really, really hurting. The county, I think, has done a lot of different tactics and strategies, but the problem is overwhelming,” Slocum said, adding, “It’s a heartbreaker.” “A lot of these folks are essential workers,” Rodriguez said. “They don’t have the luxury of staying home and working from home, and so the fact they have to risk it every day, going out and coming back to their families, that’s got to account for ... some of the higher incidence of infection,” he said. “They don’t have any other place where they can isolate.” San Mateo County’s offices of Diversity and Equity, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and Diversity and Equity Council have set up a Zoom community input session on the topic of race and COVID-19 on Friday, Aug. 7, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Go to is.gd/townhall384 to access more information. A Email Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@almanacnews.com

N E W S CORONAVIRUS continued from page 5

according to a July 15 press release. Up to two adults can visit one resident, though two residents living together can take part in the same visit. People charged with legal decisions, such as conservators, are also allowed to make outdoor visits, which must be scheduled in advance and take place in an area with ample space for social distancing. The county press release notes hired service providers, such as hair stylists, aren’t authorized. The visitors are also required to wear a face covering and keep physical distance from others. During the visits, facility staff and residents need to wear surgical masks and staff has to make sure hand sanitizer is available, according to the press release. Nursing homes are also advised to provide a face shield for people at the facility to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Before offering limited outdoor visits, facilities must submit a written statement to the county Health Department explaining that they have adequate access to COVID-19 tests, practice the department’s “COVID-19 Mass Testing Strategy,” have a sufficient number of staff members and maintain an adequate amount of personal protective equipment for residents. A facility that finds itself behind on any of the requirements won’t be allowed to hold outdoor visits. The order also permits “necessary indoor and compassionate care visits,” which include matters related to urgent health care, legal issues and other affairs, such as end-of-life care. Facilities that make these types of visits available must also meet PPE requirements and other safety measures. Visitors will be screened and logged by each facility, with the exception of first responders. In the release, the county noted that all long-term care facilities are required to follow safety protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, regardless of whether they’ll allow visitors. The measures include screening residents and staff for coronavirus symptoms daily, such as taking temperature checks, and following provisions in regards to providing hygiene supplies and PPE.

Health orders rolled back On Monday, all California counties were ordered to shut down indoor operations for restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums and card rooms and all bar operations — indoors or out, Gov. Gavin

Sammy Dallal

David Montenegro, right, helps Paul Rim with his order at with Mademoiselle Colette in Redwood City on March 18. San Mateo County restaurants were allowed to reopen for indoor dining under strict health guidelines on June 17, but a new statewide order this week shut it down.

Newsom announced at a press conference. Santa Clara County had to close additional business sectors effective Wednesday. The new order has a stark impact on San Mateo County, which on June 17 reopened most businesses that Newsom said must shut down. Each county on the state’s coronavirus monitoring list — which now includes Santa Clara County, according to a press release sent out at 4:30 p.m. Monday — must also close gyms, places of worship, offices in non-critical sectors, hair and nail salons and indoor malls in addition to the statewide closure. Monday was the first day those businesses had been allowed to reopen. For more information, read the story on Page 1.

asymptomatic people who are considered high risk, such as health care workers and those who live or work in nursing homes, homeless shelters and prisons. Essential workers without symptoms fall under the third category. More widespread testing of the general population will occur once testing turnaround time is less than 48 hours, according to the new guidelines. “We all know that testing in California is a vital piece of our response, not only to focus on taking care of patients ... but also to understand the patterns of transmission across the state,” Ghaly said.

In the last several months, local health officials encouraged all people to get tested, even those without symptoms. Some counties promoted free, no appointment, drive-up testing for anyone. But as cases began surging last month and testing demands strained resources, Californians found themselves waiting longer for appointments, and sometimes even longer for results. California has averaged 105,000 daily tests over a twoweek period, Ghaly said. At the same time, the state is up against supply chain challenges and backlogs in commercial laboratories. As part of its new testing strategy, the state is asking private

providers — including doctors, pharmacists and nurse practitioners — as well as hospitals and clinics to do more of their own testing rather than refer patients to state-run testing sites. This will allow the state’s sites that offer free testing to focus on populations that don’t have as much access, Ghaly said. By asking providers to perform more of their own testing, the state would also shift more of the testing costs to health plans. Ghaly said an average test costs $100. A spokesperson for the California Association of Health Plans said that while it is awaiting more details on the upcoming changes, health plans currently provide coverage for tests deemed medically necessary and ordered by a provider. According to federal guidance, health plans are not required to cover testing for employment purposes or for public health surveillance. Ghaly said the state is working on emergency regulations that would classify testing for essential health workers and for those with possible exposure as medically necessary.

Comprehensive COVID-19 coverage View interactive charts tracking the spread of the coronavirus in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties online at paloaltoonline.atavist.com/tracking-thecoronavirus. Find a comprehensive collection of coverage on the Midpeninsula’s response to the new coronavirus by The Almanac and its sister publications, Palo Alto Online, and the Mountain View Voice, at tinyurl.com/ c19-Almanac. A

New state testing guidelines As the nation grapples with growing demands for coronavirus testing, renewing shortages and delays in results, California is setting new guidelines for who gets tested first, state health officials announced Tuesday. Dr. Mark Ghaly, health and human services secretary, said in a video conference that the state will prioritize vulnerable patients and those with symptoms. The state also will be asking medical providers to do more in-office testing, and for health insurance plans to pick up that cost. The state’s new guidance divides testing into four categories. The top priority will be patients hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, as well as people linked to an outbreak. All other people with symptoms fall into “Tier 2,” as do

Courtesy Melinda Stoker

Galloping Fourth Vintage vehicles are often a main feature of community Fourth of July parades, but only in Woodside does it feature a much older form of transportation, which is also a beloved local pastime. Many of the town’s usual summer events, such as the May Day parade and the Woodside Junior Rodeo, have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but on July 4, local equestrians gave residents something to cheer about, as they staged a mini parade of horses and riders sporting red, white and blue. Some riders waved American flags. Over a dozen equestrians rode their horses on the trails down Mountain Home to Roberts Market, up Cañada Road, across to Albion to Woodside Road, then past Roberts again. Pictured, from left, are: Melinda Stoker on Pompeia; Diane Levine on Dottie; Nora on Sonny; Julia Linette on Mustang Sally; Rebekah Witter on Remington; and Darius Linette on Morgan. July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 15

N E W S

San Mateo County leads state in census participation By Bay City News Service

an Mateo County is leading the state in census returns with 72.8% of households having responded as of June 30, but county officials say more work is needed to ensure that the hardest to count populations are included. Despite the many obstacles to a full count — including the worsening novel coronavirus pandemic, language barriers and widespread distrust of the federal government among critical population groups — San Mateo County has nearly reached its 2010-level of participation, which came in at 73.2% in the last decennial effort to count every person in the country. “Given the challenges we faced this year, I am so pleased and thankful for all the work everyone is doing,” county Census Management Analyst Megan Gosh said June 30 during a teleconference hosted by Ethnic Media Services. Gosh said the county has spent nearly two years and $1.3 million to organize public awareness campaigns aimed at encouraging people to fill out the EMISSIONS continued from page 5

amount of greenhouse gases being generated from vehicles, natural gas and waste, and completely eliminating the amount of greenhouse gases from generating electricity. That would be done through the city’s partnership with Peninsula Clean Energy, which currently provides 90% clean and renewable energy. The local nonprofit energy provider is working to be greenhouse gas free by 2021 and provide 100% renewable energy around the clock by 2025, according to its website. Even so, those six strategies are unlikely to have universal support throughout the community, council members said. They are: explore converting 95% of buildings in the city to all-electric by 2030; set citywide goals to increase electric vehicle use and decrease gasoline sales; expand access to charging for electric vehicles citywide; reduce the annual average miles of vehicle travel per capita by 25% (or another yet-to-be determined goal); stop using fossil fuels for city operations; and create a plan to protect the community from sea level rise and flooding by July 2021. The council agreed that staff would prioritize the first, second and fifth of those goals. The step that could reduce

U.S. Census Bureau questionnaire, with much of that money being doled out to community groups with intimate knowledge of the area’s hardest-to-count populations. Those populations, including Latino, African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and immigrant communities, have historically experienced significant undercounts. For example, the 2010 census identified about 1,900 Latino residents in a southern part of the county’s unincorporated coastal area, but the real number is likely closer to 5,000 or 6,000, according to Rita Mancera, executive director of Puente, a nonprofit social services organization. “We are missing a lot of people,” Mancera said. Part of that is because the census doesn’t send forms to post office boxes and many people don’t have traditional addresses. Also, because the area is so large, about 164 square miles, it’s not easy to physically find and count every individual, she said. Compounding this is the fact that the pandemic caused the

cancellation of big in-person events where volunteers would traditionally do much of their census education work. Outreach groups have had to adopt new strategies on the fly, and many now primarily rely on phone banking, text messaging and social media campaigns to get the word out. Volunteers have fanned out to medical clinics and food distribution centers, both of which have become vital community resources during the pandemic and subsequent economic devastation. In addition, many immigrant communities are unfamiliar with the census, are distrustful of the federal government — a distrust that significantly intensified after Donald Trump took the White House — and remain reluctant to voluntarily provide personal information to the Census Bureau. “Since 2016, everyone was really trying to stay off the radar as much as possible,” Mancera said. And while not every argument in favor of census participation is effective in every community, a point made prominently by

nearly everyone speaking to newly arrived individuals is that the Census Bureau is forbidden by law from sharing personal information with any other individual or government agency, including law enforcement and immigration officials. Nina Li, community outreach coordinator with the San Mateo County Office of Community Affairs, said that while roughly 30% of the county’s population is Asian, many are experiencing the census for the first time. “It’s totally a new concept with them,” Li said. “The biggest misconception to them is they think that the census is very similar to an election where you have to be a citizen to participate.” In fact, the census is designed to count every person living in the United States, regardless of citizenship status. The Trump administration’s unsuccessful push to include a citizenship question on the forms, however, has gone a long way to deepening distrust in many communities. African Americans, too, often have a distrust of the federal government and have had to

overcome the bias and racism built into the census, which for many years only counted them as three-fifths of a person, said Lisa Tealer, executive director of the Bay Area Community Health Advisory Council. “Systems like the census ... have come to African Americans seeking help and support but we often don’t see the benefits of these efforts,” Tealer said. It’s important for outreach volunteers to acknowledge the pain and anxiety the community experiences when interacting with government agencies and officials, Tealer said. “Acknowledge that the census has not been kind to communities of color and we have an opportunity to change that,” she said. Despite these and other obstacles to a full count, San Mateo County appears poised to surpass participation numbers from 2010 by the time the count winds down on Oct. 31. “We are ecstatic to be No. 1 in the state, but we have a lot of work to do,” said Melissa Vergara, a census specialist with the San Mateo County Office of Community Affairs.

greenhouse gas emissions the most annually would be to convert buildings from natural-gas burning ones to all-electric ones, according to Sustainability Manager Rebecca Lucky, and could reduce emissions by between 52,000 and 86,000 tons per year. Halting the use of natural gas citywide would generate reductions on the higher end of that spectrum. Alternatively, and less disruptively, the city could pass a “burnout ordinance.” Such an ordinance would mandate that when a gas furnace burns out or stops working it has to be replaced with an electric heat pump. Peninsula Clean Energy has offered to provide technical support to help, said Josie Gaillard, environmental quality

commissioner. It also offers a water heater rebate and plans to roll out a similar program for space heaters, she added. Vice Mayor Drew Combs said that one potential obstacle to such an ordinance is that when a gas furnace burns out, a household is in a situation of urgent need. They don’t have hot water without it, and it may be difficult to ask them to invest in new electrical wiring that could take time to install, all while they’re without hot water. He expressed overall support for the initiative, though. One of the initial proposals for the first goal was to consider converting 100% of all buildings to all electric systems, but past efforts in pushing for more electricity in new buildings through

the city’s new “reach” codes generated pushback from property owners like John Tarlton, whose tenants include biotech labs that require gas stoves for scientific purposes, and some chefs who prefer to cook with gas stoves. Council members Catherine Carlton and Ray Mueller pared back the initial proposal to converting 95% of buildings to all-electric, and noted that there would probably be pushback from the community. “This seems like a really herculean undertaking,” Combs said. Altogether, Gaillard said, an expected value analysis model found that if the city were to invest $1.5 million in the city’s climate action plan, it could avoid an estimated $144 million in future costs.

“That seems like a great investment of precious city resources,” she said. Taking action now is critical, Gaillard said, citing scientific research. The U.N. has reported that global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degrees of planetary heating between 2030 and 2052. If humans aren’t able to cap global warming at that level, there could be “drastic and irreversible planetary changes,” according to a staff report. To do that, greenhouse gas emissions planetwide should be decreased by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach “net zero” by 2050, the report said. Incentives alone won’t produce those reductions, Gaillard said. “We need incentives plus mandates.” Cuoncil members acknowledged that their plan may be a reach. “We cannot be Pollyannaish — there will be backlash when we have this discussion,” Mueller said. “We have to figure out what the community is willing to accept, and, candidly, we may not be able to get there all the way.” “These goals are aspirational, and they’re meant to be aspirational,” Councilwoman Betsy Nash said. “If we don’t have that aspiration, we’re never going to tackle the climate crisis.” A Email Kate Bradshaw at kbradshaw@almanacnews.com

Courtesy city of Menlo Park

By 2030, the city of Menlo Park hopes to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 10% of its 2005 emissions.

16 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

P U B L I C AT I O N

SUMMER 2020

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Market reopens with assist from Silicon Valley technology Page 22

Entry-level homes see multiple bids Page 26

Real estate during COVID: How industry leaders are adapting Page 32 July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 17

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S U M M E R

R E A L

E S T A T E

Magali Gauthier

Tight inventory has helped home prices hold steady along the Midpeninsula since the reopening of the market at the start of May.

Silicon Valley tech keeps real estate industry afloat Market reopens with virtual home tours, Zoom meetings, hybrid-style transactions by David Goll

22 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

household names during the pandemic, and agents are using this technology to convene and broadcast their online communications, he said. Realtors are hosting interactive online tours, showing properties and answering questions directly from viewers, Cardus said. Despite the emphasis on virtual tours and open houses, purchasing a home without ever visiting it in person is still unusual — but not unheard of, he added. Denise Welsh, Realtor in the Los Altos office of Compass Real Estate, said agents are a vital link to successfully blending online and face-to-face activities in the brave new

world of 2020 real estate. “The role of agents is more important than ever,” Welsh said. “We are gatekeepers of safety for our clients and properties.” Realtor duties have changed and expanded, she explained. In guidelines developed by the California Association of Realtors and Occupational and Safety Administration, Realtors are now responsible for cleaning and sanitizing surfaces in properties being shown and limiting tours to no more than two cohabitating adults at a time. Home visits are by appointment only. Visitors are discouraged from touching any surfaces and doors and windows are kept open during tours. Agents must provide hand

Embarcadero Media file photo

ocal Realtors are combining lim- populated cities and compact living units in ited in-person meetings with virtual the COVID-19 era. Many also are working home tours and other Silicon Valley from home more often and are seeking floor technology — like Zoom and Facebook plans with more space and flexibility. Live video conferencing — to reinvigorate Leannah Hunt, Realtor with Palo Altoa market that was largely shut down during based Sereno Group, said the six-week the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period actually helped transition from mid-March until the start of May clients into the industry’s new normal of when the industry was allowed to reopen conducting business virtually by encouras an essential business with limitations. aging prospective buyers to use online reRealtors interviewed for sources to do initial research this story say they consider on properties. the new hybrid industry mod- ‘Agents have “Business has been fairly el as a positive signal during brisk,” Hunt said. these unusual times, espe- had to be Hunt and other local Realcially as the summer market adaptive, tors are quick to point out that has started to show signs of a face-to-face contact and inresourceful bounce back. person meetings have made a Since the spring shutdown, and resilient.’ comeback as initial restrictions interest rates have remained —Denise Welsh, have been loosened, but a relow and some homes in the Realtor turn to what were considered local entry-level category — normal practices and activiranging from $1.5 million to $3 million — ties before the COVID-19 virus — includhave been attracting multiple offers. Tight ing broker tours and open-ended, all-day inventory — down 30% in parts of the Mid- open houses — are unlikely to return this peninsula compared to the same time last year if a vaccine or other treatments remain year, according to some Realtors — has not unavailable. only increased competition, but has helped State and local public health officials have prices hold steady. Prices are even trending decreed that social distancing — people rea few percentage points higher in some of maining at least 6 feet apart — is one of the the Midpeninsula’s most sought-after cities major strategies to combat the virus’ fearand neighborhoods, Realtors said. some contagiousness. Larger properties on big tracts of land in “We have seen a big increase in the popsemi-rural areas in Woodside, Portola Val- ularity of virtual home tours,” said Paul ley and Los Altos Hills also are drawing Cardus, executive officer of the Cupertinomore interest these days as increasing num- based Silicon Valley Association of Realbers of people have decided to avoid densely tors. Zoom and Facebook Live have become

With more people working from home because of the pandemic, local Realtors say they have seen increased demand for floor plans with more space and flexibility.

S U M M E R

R E A L

Single-Family Home Sales January - June 2020

E S T A T E

Condominiums/Townhomes January - June 2020

Number of Sales

Median Sales Price

Median Days on Market

Number of Sales

Median Sales Price

Median Days on Market

Palo Alto

124

$3,039,000

Palo Alto

$1,550,000

Los Altos

110

$3,185,000

Los Altos

$1,637,500

Los Altos Hills

$4,000,000

Los Altos Hills

—

Mountain View

$2,134,000

Mountain View

$1,136,500

Atherton

$7,000,000

Atherton

—

East Palo Alto

$957,500

East Palo Alto

$851,000

Menlo Park

108

$2,568,500

Menlo Park

$1,330,500

Portola Valley

$3,350,000

Portola Valley

—

Redwood City

211

$1,660,000

Redwood City

$1,077,500

Woodside

$2,800,000

Woodside

—

Information provided by the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors from MLS Listings, Inc. Note: Rural areas do not have significant townhome sales. sanitizer and face masks to visitors and often wear gloves and shoe coverings themselves. “This is an unprecedented time,” Welsh said. “Agents have had to be adaptive, resourceful and resilient.” Brett Caviness, a Realtor in the Menlo Park Compass Real Estate office and member of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors board of directors, said the downside to temporarily sidelining traditional open houses is that it makes it more difficult for agents to generate new business. “That is the No. 1 way to show people who you are as an agent,” he said. “Current market limitations — such as the dramatic restrictions on home tours and open houses — do tend to favor well-established

‘We are still getting our jobs done, so that hasn’t changed.’ —Brett Caviness, member, SILVAR board of directors agents. I’m concerned those with less experience will have a tough time during this period.” On the upside, restricting access to a property often means visitors are already qualified buyers who are more serious, he added. Looking forward, Caviness said the usual summer market lull is unlikely this year due

to pent-up demand from the delay in the usually robust spring market and the fact that most people will not be traveling for vacations this summer. “The market could remain very busy right through Thanksgiving,” he said. Caviness expressed hopes that at least some sellers reluctant to put their homes up for sale during the pandemic because of health and market concerns will recognize industry efforts to increase safety measures and tap into that delayed interest from prospective buyers. Sales have reportedly been brisk from Mountain View and Palo Alto to Portola Valley. Cardus said a roughly 30% yearover-year decline in activity between March

17 and the Memorial Day weekend can be largely erased with a vigorous summer resurgence. Caviness said as much as conditions have changed from March, the new business normal contains at least one recognizable vestige from the pre-pandemic days: “We are still getting our jobs done, so that hasn’t changed.” Q David Goll is a freelance writer. He can be emailed at David.w.goll@gmail.com About the cover: Realtors have turned to virtual open houses and other technology to help market homes like this one on Maybell Avenue in Palo Alto. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

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Compass is the brand name used for services provided by one or more of the Compass group of subsidiary companies. Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01079009. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been yOoWÂ OMĂ VBbUOp Wb loWKOĂ&#x203A; KdbMWsWdbĂ&#x203A; pB_O do zWsVMoBzB_ aB| JO aBMO zWsVdts bdsWKOĂ !d psBsOaObs is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are approximate.

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July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 25

S U M M E R

R E A L

E S T A T E

Real Estate Matters Coronavirus crisis, protests, trade wars reshape local market Entry-level homes see multiple bids, but demand for higher-end homes softens

ollowing more than a 40% drop in real estate activities during the first phase of the quarantine, our local market has gradually reopened since the start of May. Real estate is now deemed an essential business, but with restrictions: Homes are no longer permitted to be open to the general public or on a walk-in basis. Multiple measures, including signing an entry disclosure, controlling the number of people at each property and following social distancing rules, also are now required. After the reopening of the real estate industry as an essential business, the number of new listings jumped 2.2 times between May 1 and June 19 compared to the first phase of the lockdown period from March 17 to the end of April. New listings also jumped 35% higher compared to the same period last year. So it appears that sellers did not take any steps back because of the pandemic and the pushed-back spring pipeline drove a Vshaped recovery: From the start of 2020 to June 19, Palo Alto had a total of 285 new listings, on par with 282 of the same period of 2019. On the other hand, buyers are not yet

by Xin returning to the market at the same speed, even with record-low mortgage interest rates. Inventory is piling up as buyers are not stepping up as fast as new homes come to market. Homes are no longer selling within seven to 10 days, but tend to stay for two to three weeks at the least. Contingencies are back, especially those related to financing, as banks need more time to process and many buyers are contemplating whether to liquidate their stock options now or wait longer. A less enthusiastic buyer pool also has led to soft home prices. The number of offers on entry-level homes priced at around $3 million in good locations has come down to two to three offers compared to five to 10 last year. Homes listed above $5 million are moving very slowly. From the start of 2020, 149 homes have exchanged hands, which is a 22% year-over-year decline. The median price of all homes sold in Palo Alto since the start of 2020 is $2.74 million, a 5% decline from the same period last year. However, if we dig into the May 1-June 19 period, it’s apparent that the median price of sold homes has actually declined much more. With a median price of $2.73 million compared to $3.1 million last year, home prices have dropped 12% since the reopening. Home prices are soft across all segments.

Jiang Less high-end transactions is another reason for overall lower prices. For the May-toJune period, there were only three homes in Palo Alto that sold above $5 million based on the Multiple Listing Services, while eight homes sold last year. Overall, since the start of 2020, there have been only eight recorded transactions above $5 million, compared to 15 during the same time period last year.

‘The high infection rate of COVID-19 and widespread protests have triggered buyers to reconsider living in cities.’ The health and economic crises have brought other changes to the local real estate market, as well. Some may be short-lived, but others will have lasting effects. The high infection rate of COVID-19 and widespread protests have triggered buyers to reconsider living in cities. Moreover, the elimination of daily commutes in the near term as more people work from home has shifted some buyers focus from the Peninsula to more affordable East Bay cities. For buyers who can afford to upgrade, the need for additional space has become a priority, and moving from Palo Alto to neighboring cities like Los Altos and Menlo Park can

LAKE TAHOE

help achieve that, especially if schools are not an issue. The desire for more space is also reflected in the active high-end rental market. The most significant change of the housing market in Palo Alto is the lack of buyers directly from China due to the trade war. The pandemic only further accelerated the trend. The over-$5-million segment has been the first casualty. Those old homes in Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park used to be the favorite of wealthy Chinese buyers who didn’t need to move in immediately and could afford the time to build new homes. Those are now having a hard time selling. We may have entered a more normal market when the appreciation of home values does not deviate much from inflation. The past super cycle in the Palo Alto real estate market will be hard to replicate in the foreseeable future. However, the record-high NASDAQ index price seems to predict the continuous leading roles of technology in our lives when we eventually get out of the pandemic. Perhaps, itís just a matter of time that the demand will catch up with the inventory, and the heat of the real estate market will ramp up. Q Xin Jiang is a real estate agent with Compass in Palo Alto. She can be emailed at xin.jiang@compass.com.

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Compass is the brand name used for services provided by one or more of the Compass group of subsidiary companies. Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing #lldostbWs| _Bzpà WKObpO !taJOo à __ aBsOoWB_ loOpObsOM VOoOWb Wp WbsObMOM Tdo WbTdoaBsWdbB_ ltoldpOp db_| BbM Wp KdalW_OM Toda pdtoKOp MOOaOM oO_WBJ_O Jts VBp bds JOOb yOoW OMà VBbUOp Wb loWKOÛ KdbMWsWdbÛ sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are approximate.

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July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 31

S U M M E R

R E A L

E S T A T E

Real estate during COVID: How industry leaders are adapting Virtual tours, sanitizing stations, a desire for flexible floor plans might be here to stay by Linda Taaffe, Summer Real Estate editor

ith real estate up and running as an essential business since the start of May, local professionals have been adapting to an industry that may never go completely back to its pre-pandemic ways. The response to COVID-19 is redefining everything from how properties are shown and marketed

to how loans are processed to what kinds of renovations, floor plans and home features are most desirable in a world that has changed the way people interact with one another in public and private spaces. A handful of local industry leaders representing mortgage lending, construction and residential real

estate shared their perspectives on how their sectors are being re-envisioned, what changes — for better or worse — might be here to stay, and why they expect the Midpeninsula to make a strong comeback during the remainder of the year. Their interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Arti Miglani

Eric Trailer

Derk Brill

Lisa Sten

Michael Repka

REALTOR

MORTGAGE LENDER

REALTOR

RESIDENTIAL DESIGNER

BROKER/GENERAL COUNSEL

Arti Miglani has ranked among the top 1% of topproducing Realtors in Silicon Valley during her 20-plus years as a Realtor practicing in the Bay Area. She currently works as a Realtor at Compass.

Eric Trailer is an experienced executive in mortgage lending who has worked in the Silicon Valley real estate industry since 2002. He currently lives in Palo Alto and works as a mortgage lender at Bank of the West.

Derk Brill is a Palo Alto native who has ranked among the top-producing agents in the United States during his 21 years as a Realtor practicing in his hometown. He currently works as a Realtor at Compass.

Lisa Sten is an awardwinning designer and CEO of Harrell Remodeling. She joined the Palo Alto-based residential remodeling company’s Design + Build Team in 2000.

Michael Repka has a unique background in finance, landscape construction and tax and real estate law. He currently is the chief executive officer, managing broker and general counsel of DeLeon Realty.

What adjustments have you had to make in recent weeks when showing properties?

How has the way you do business changed in the past three months?

How has your job changed in the past three months?

How has the way you do business changed in the past three months?

How has your job changed in the past three months?

The fact that most meetings are done remotely rather than in person and that there’s a significant amount of added effort around appraisals, loan approvals and closings have made the lending process longer and more laborious. Most branch banks have been accessible by drive-thru or appointment only and closings have been completed remotely because escrow offices are shut down. Mistakes are also more common given the sheer volume of transactions and these added complexities.

It’s gotten much more complex. In addition to the fiduciary responsibilities we’ve always had as Realtors, we’ve taken on the additional responsibility of protecting our clients and the public from COVID exposure. The most obvious change has been adhering to safety guidelines around property showings. All properties I list or show must meet the guidelines established by California Association of Realtors and local municipalities. This means staying on top of regulations that change weekly, which has proven challenging. Traditional open houses, for example, are not allowed under the current shelter-in-place health orders. The law requires homes be shown by appointment only with the number of visitors limited to two people from the same household. Some counties have more robust health requirements than what’s required by the state association, and in a case of conflicting statutes, the more restrictive requirements are enforced.

At our job sites, we now have a temperature check-in at the front door and hand-washing stations. Luckily, many of our job sites are big enough that our crew can easily stay 6 feet apart. In certain cases, we stagger the work of the trade specialists so they are not there at the same time. We have sent a few subcontractors home when their temperatures were too high.

We now have to follow very specific guidelines when showing properties: Buyers and sellers both must complete a Coronavirus Property Entry Advisory Form, which explains the risk that a buyer is taking when entering into a property and the health and sanitization guidelines that one needs to follow. Additionally, anyone living in the property that’s for sale must disclose whether or not they have been exposed to COVID-19. Anyone in the home during a property showing must wear a mask and gloves and has to sanitize before entering. Clients are not permitted to touch anything while in the property. If they do accidentally touch something, we must disinfect it before the next showing appointment. The California Association of Realtors strongly urges us to do online showings, but most of our clients prefer to visit the property before writing an offer. I believe these protocols will be strictly enforced for at least the next six months or until a vaccine for the virus becomes available.

What sorts of deals are getting done? Homes priced $4 million and under are the most common deals closing in our area

What kind of underwriting strategies have you implemented in order to move forward amid the ongoing economic crisis? The main elements that we are focusing on have to do with greater due diligence around income and employment. Self-employed borrowers, in particular, are under greater scrutiny since their income and employment are more difficult to determine versus a wage earner with pay stubs, and I predict that this added due diligence will remain in effect long term.

32 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

What changes do you think are here to stay? Some of the biggest changes in the industry have been around the marketing of properties. I think open houses may

What’s your view on the construction market right now? There is pent-up interest for remodeling as people are in their homes 24 hours a day and are really seeing what needs to be done. We have seen dozens of small projects and maintenance projects come to the forefront. People are interested in universal design, which makes a home safe for all ages and physical abilities. No one wants to see a loved one go into a nursing home. People are bringing their adult offspring and parents into their homes.

What sorts of projects are getting done? We are seeing requests for kitchens, bathrooms, additions, whole house remodels

Virtual showings and online marketing have become even more important. There’s also more emphasis on client safety. I’ve hired a full-time person to go to each of my listings four times per week to sanitize them.

What sorts of deals are getting done? Generally, buyers have shifted their focus to larger homes with more land. For some, they have been willing to go farther away if that is required by budgetary constraints.

How are buyers and sellers able to close deals under social distancing mandates? Deals have been a little more shaky due to buyer nervousness, but they are still closing.

What’s your sense of the financial market right now and access to financing? Banks are still lending but some have increased their requirements, such as the down payment.

What are the most common questions you’re getting from clients? Many clients are asking for live video tours. (all continued on page 33)

S U M M E R

Q&A: Arti Miglani (continued from page 32)

these days. They are doing well because interest rates are as low as 2%, which is very favorable compared to the pre-pandemic world. The trade-off is a larger down payment requirement. Now, a down payment is about 25% for owner-occupied homes compared to the historical 20%, and the down payment for investment properties is about 40% compared to 30% previously. This hasn’t, however, shown to be a deterrent for those interested in taking advantage of the lower interest rates. Homes priced under $4

Q&A: Eric Trailer (continued from page 32)

What sorts of financing deals are getting done and what sorts of deals are tough to do? We continue to offer financing at the higher levels, such as 89.9% financing on primary property purchases up to $2.5

Q&A: Derk Brill (continued from page 32)

diminish in the future as the industry has moved to digital marketing. Fully virtual home tours accompanied by floor plans and 3D walk-throughs are becoming common, and I think this trend is here to stay.

What’s your sense of the financial market right now and access to financing? Financing has definitely tightened since the pandemic started.

Q&A: Lisa Sten (continued from page 32)

E S T A T E

$5 million. While I have seen many all-cash sales for these types of homes, the frequency with which they are closing has slowed. People within this budget are often looking to purchase their second, larger home and are taking their time to do so. These buyers can afford to take their time as the inventory of these homes at any one time has doubled since pre-pandemic times. Deals with overseas buyers and sellers also have slowed. Overseas buyers relocating here are unable to make an offer because they haven’t been able to travel to firm up their purchase. It also has become challenging

How has your company’s long-range planning changed?

million, and our credit score requirements were modestly modified for those transactions and for “jumbo” loans in general. The toughest transactions to approve are for those borrowers who are self-employed or who rely heavily on variable income, as the income validation is under heightened scrutiny.

How do current circumstances compare to the dot-com recession?

over the pandemic’s impact and the sheer certainty of recession due to shelter-in-place orders nationwide.

Lenders have increased ratios, and financing has become more difficult to obtain. Assisting a client in sourcing a lender whose offerings fit the buyer’s need has become an increasingly important aspect of my job.

see this trend continuing through the summer as inventory starts to open up again. The sales cycle over the next three to six months will differ from the past. With lower sales numbers in the traditionally active spring market due to shelter-in-place mandates, we expect the summer and fall periods to be seasonally stronger than normal.

million are also popular among buyers with high liquidity: Those who have cashed out their stocks due to volatility in the stock market are ready to make offers. Additionally, there has been an uptick in first-time home owners. Many of these first-time buyers are people who have been living in high rises in San Francisco or renting apartments and are now ready to buy a single-family home with a yard. They are ready to exit the high-density, congested areas.

What sorts of deals are tough to do? Deals that have been tough to close are homes listed over

What’s your view on the real estate market right now?

The only similarity is the massive amount of valuation lost in the stock market. In the dot-com recession, most of the valuation losses were specific to the technology sector. This time, the entire equities and fixed-income markets have suffered from massive uncertainty

The local market has been remarkably resilient through all that has happened in the last 12 weeks. That’s one of the reasons the Midpeninsula has always proven to be a sound investment. I

Are there any ways in which the pandemic has changed the industry for the better?

What’s your sense of the financial market right now and its impact on construction financing?

materials that are easier to sanitize and maintain. At home, front entry areas could include “sanitization stations”: A sink near the front door or a simple shoe bench will be a must, and universal design for all ages and abilities that focus on hygiene – such as touch-free faucets, foot-pedal faucets and door openers, will become more common.

and ADUs (accessory dwelling units). Homeowners are really feeling the struggle if they are cramped in their home, have a lack of privacy, are isolated in one part of the house, need a quiet Zoom room/office or have safety concerns. The permit process has changed substantially. More of it is getting done online, but it can be a huge challenge getting through to the 10-plus cities we are working in right now.

I think we are going to see increased pedestrian areas, more like Europe. Commercial buildings will be repurposed for muchneeded housing. We’ll use more

Q&A: Michael Repka

with bigger lots are doing better.

(continued from page 32)

R E A L

The market is strong! We don’t have many projects with construction financing.

How do you think the pandemic will change construction and design over the long term?

What’s your view on the real estate market right now?

Are there any ways in which the pandemic has changed the industry for the better?

It is holding up better than I would have imagined. Most buyers seem comfortable that the market will bounce back well. Generally, larger homes

A lot of buyers are coming down from San Francisco. Also, narrated video tours are becoming more popular. Plus, Zoom has added some operational

I think the move toward a more structured method of marketing

With respect to how you go about your business, what do you want to see happen in the next six months? We’d like to see continued collaboration and the use of technology to speed up the process. Q efficiencies between my designers, handymen, stagers and marketing team.

With respect to how you go about your business, what do you want to see happen in the next six months? We are going to increase our social media and online marketing. Q

for overseas buyers and sellers to complete Power of Attorney documents required to give someone the authority to buy or sell real estate for them because most embassies (where these types of documents must be notarized) are indefinitely closed.

Compass has always wanted to incorporate more technology and digitization in the sales processes, and the pandemic has fast-tracked achieving this goal. With the office closed over the past few months requiring agents to work from home, we’ve

What are the most common questions you’re getting from clients now? Most clients are wondering if they are still qualified to get a mortgage. I’ve also seen a larger uptick on the cash-out refinance request, as many borrowers are homes — open houses by appointment only, etc. — is a welcome byproduct of current times, and I believe it will serve buyers and sellers better. The trend had been evolving toward a much less personal experience in everything involved in a home sale. It wasn’t uncommon to have 75-100 people, many of whom were not prospective buyers, come through an open house in three hours. This approach was geared more toward marketing the agents than the home itself.

embraced technology now more than ever.

Are there any ways in which the pandemic has changed the industry for the better? There are a few silver linings to the pandemic. It has strengthened and better qualified the buyer pool. It has introduced efficiencies in the sales process such as normalizing virtual showings, which reduces commute and showing times for both clients and agents. Finally, it has promoted more sustainable practices such as eliminating physical paperwork for offer letters and real estate listing presentations. Q looking for liquidity and greater diversification of equity.

What do you think the home finance sector will look like in 12 months? The home finance sector here in the Bay Area is expected to remain stable since many of many of the jobs that support the borrowers who can afford a home purchase are not expected to go away. Q

With respect to how you go about your business, what do you want to see happen in the next six months? I’d like to see a considerable amount of time devoted to the development of best practices in serving clients. With mandates changing regularly, it has been difficult to maintain consistency throughout the industry. I’d like to see ongoing education play a more significant role in keeping Realtors abreast of the latest developments related to COVID-19. Q

SHOW SOME LOCAL LOVE Support local businesses and help our communities thrive. • Select Local Businesses for Your Needs • Shop at Local Businesses Online or Over the Phone • Purchase Gift Cards • Order Takeout or Delivery • Spread The Word About Businesses That Are Open July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 33

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members. Ăş #. 22 / #22 !

Through Compass Cares, 100% of our transactions lead to a donation back to the communities we serve. We turn local knowledge into local impact by supporting meaningful local causes.

Carolyn Aarts Keddington RealtorÂŽ 650.946.8122 carolyn.keddington@compass.com DRE 01490400

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01527235. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes db_| BbM Wp KdalW_OM Toda pdtoKOp MOOaOM oO_WBJ_O Jts VBp bds JOOb yOoWÂ OMĂ VBbUOp Wb loWKOĂ&#x203A; KdbMWsWdbĂ&#x203A; pB_O do zWsVMoBzB_ aB| JO aBMO zWsVdts bdsWKOĂ !d psBsOaObs Wp aBMO Bp sd BKKtoBK| dT Bb| MOpKoWlsWdbĂ All measurements and square footage are approximate.

34 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

Unique Central Portola Valley Estate... You Can Have It All

Spectacular Windy Hill Views on Nearly 12 Acres Main home, guesthouse, pool, barns, riding ring... your own private compound

Call for more information For more information and to arrange a private showing of this exceptional estate, please contact:

HELEN & BRAD MILLER Among Top Teams in SF Bay Area (per The Wall Street Journal rankings)

www.HelenAndBradHomes.com

650.400.3426 | 650.400.1317 helen.miller@compass.com brad.miller@compass.com License # 01142061 | License # 00917768

Rankings provided courtesy of Real Trends, The Thousand list of individual agents by total sales volume in 2018. Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing #lldostbWs| _Bzpà WKObpO !taJOo à __ aBsOoWB_ loOpObsOM VOoOWb Wp WbsObMOM Tdo WbTdoaBsWdbB_ ltoldpOp db_| BbM Wp KdalW_OM Toda pdtoKOp MOOaOM oO_WBJ_O Jts VBp bds JOOb yOoW OMà VBbUOp Wb loWKOÛ condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are approximate.

July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 35

NOW WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT TIME TO MAKE AN OFFER Traditional French Country Estate on Private Lush Acre Video Virtual Tour at

127Selby.com

127 Selby Lane, Atherton 5 BR

4.5 BA

$7,295,000

Set back on a highly desirable square one-acre lot, this home blends unique character inside and out, offering immense opportunity for luxurious living, relaxation, and entertainment. Come see for yourself and imagine the possibilities.

Rich Bassin DRE 00456815 00 650.400.0502 rich.bassin@compass.com

36 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

4,750 SF

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. WKObpO !taJOoę à __ aBsOoWB_ loOpObsOM VOoOWb Wp intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from pdtoKOp MOOaOM oO_WBJ_O Jts VBp bds JOOb yOoW OMà VBbUOp in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. __ aOBptoOaObsp BbM pntBoO TddsBUO BoO Bllod{WaBsOà

807 E. Greenwich Pl, Palo Alto Virtual and In Person Showings by Appointment Only For virtual tour, visit

807EastGreenwich.com 5 bedrooms 4 baths VdaO ĺ Û _ds ĺ Û

Asking $5,495,000

Bright, Spacious and Coveted Location... Desirable Leland Manor Neighborhood of North Palo Alto. This home embodies luxury, elegance and more, across 3500 sq ft of living space on a large lot of 11,122 sq.ft. (per City of Palo Alto). Stellar Palo Alto schools: Duveneck, Greene Middle and Palo Alto High (Buyers to verify availability). Conveniently located close to Junior Museum and Zoo, Downtown, libraries, parks, hiking and biking trails, Edgewood Plaza and more. Easy access to Stanford University, Silicon Valley Tech hubs, and freeways 280 and 101.

710 Northampton Dr, Palo Alto Virtual and In Person Showings by Appointment Only For virtual tour, visit

710Northampton.com 4 bedrooms 3 baths VdaO ĺ Û _ds ĺ Û

Asking $4,995,000

Classic and Timeless Living... Welcome to this charming home located in desirable Leland Manor neighborhood in North Palo Alto. The home offers 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 2 car oversized garage situated on a 10,800 lot. Stellar Palo Alto schools: Duveneck Elementary, Greene Middle and Palo Alto High (buyers to verify availability). Conveniently located close to Junior Museum and Zoo, Downtown, libraries, parks, hiking and biking trails, Edgewood Plaza and more. Easy access to Stanford University, Silicon Valley Tech hubs and freeways 280 and 101.

Arti Miglani DRE #01150085 650.804.6942 www.ArtiMiglani.com Arti@ArtiMiglani.com

Compass is the brand name used for services provided by one or more of the Compass group of subsidiary companies. Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01079009. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been yOoW OMà VBbUOp Wb loWKOÛ KdbMWsWdbÛ pB_O do zWsVMoBzB_ aB| JO aBMO zWsVdts bdsWKOà !d psBsOaObs Wp aBMO Bp sd BKKtoBK| dT Bb| description. All measurements and square footage are approximate.

July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 37

S U M M E R

R E A L

E S T A T E

Browsing by Budget

UNDER $2 MILLION

What can you buy on the Midpeninsula? Under $2 million

Under $4 Million

Courtesy Robert Trailer

Courtesy Alex Comsa

Palo Alto

Mountain View

Address: 293 Bryant St. List price: $1.85M Bedrooms: 2

Address: 646 Ehrhorn Ave.

Bathrooms: 2/1

Bathrooms: 3

Interior: 1,320 sq. ft.

Interior: 2,862 sq. ft.

Lot size: 668 sq. ft. Year built: 1968

Lot size: 8,458 sq. ft. Year built: 2020

Description: Updated end-unit townhouse at Casa Bryant in downtown Palo Alto with 100-square-foot space in lower level that can be used as a wine cellar, storage or laundry area. Formal entry leads to an open living/dining room area with sliding glass doors to a garden patio. Kitchen features quartz counters and stainless steel appliances.

Description: New two-story Spanish-style home with chef-inspired kitchen that includes an island with bar seating, walk-in pantry and utility space with a desk. The dining room has dual sliding doors and overlooks the great room, which features a fireplace. Other features include: an arched entry door, wood shutters, smooth stucco, barrel tile roofing and wrought iron details.

UNDER $4 MILLION Palo Alto Address: 327 Cowper St. List price: $3.68M Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3 Interior: 2,298 sq. ft. Lot size: 4,100 sq. ft. Year built: 1905 Description: Craftsman-style home near downtown with unique details, including a window seat perch in the front parlor, a large front porch, built-in floor-to-ceiling bookcases, shutters throughout, vaultedceilings, two en-suite bathrooms and a basement.

List price: $3.69M Bedrooms: 4

UNDER $5 MILLION

Under $5 Million

Under $4 Million

Mountain View Address: 364 N. Rengstorff Ave. List price: $1.69M Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2 Interior: 1,340 sq. ft. Lot size: 5,378 sq. ft. Year built: 1954 Description: Mid-century modern home in the Monta Loma neighborhood built by famed Mackay Homes during post-war era. The floor plan allows for lots of sunlight and views of the landscaped yard, which is adorned with multiple types of plants and fruit trees.

Courtesy Joban Brown

Courtesy Robert Trailer

Atherton Address: 48 Middlegate St. List price: $4.94M Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3/1 Interior: 3,790 sq. ft. Lot size: 6,750 sq. ft. Year built: 2015 Description: Modern Belgian Tudor-style Home with gourmet kitchen, great room and master suite with vaulted ceilings, skylights and a walk-in closet. Living room and dining room share a see-thru fireplace.

Menlo Park

Palo Alto

Address: 333 Marmona Drive List price: $3.89M Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 3 Interior: 2,347 sq. ft. Lot size: 5,005 sq. ft. Year built: 2020 Description: New two-story farmhouse-style home that features charcoal siding, natural wood, metal seam roofing and a covered front porch. Floor plan includes a great room with a fireplace; a gourmet kitchen with a walk-in pantry, island with bar seating and an eat-in dining area; and a master suite with a pocket door that opens into a spa-like bathroom.

Address: 2065 Park Blvd.

UNDER $6 MILLION

List price: $4.79M Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 4/1 Interior: 3,009 sq. ft. Lot size: 7,559 sq. ft. Year built: 1924

Palo Alto Address: 262 Rinconada Ave. List price: $5.98M Bedrooms: 6 Bathrooms: 4 Interior: 4,325 sq. ft. Lot size: 7,500 sq. ft. Year built: 1999 Description: Located in Old Palo Alto, this home blends Spanish architectural details with a contemporary interior. The floor plan is ideal for entertaining and features a chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen with exotic wood cabinets, a large island and high-end appliances.

38 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

Description: Contemporary-style home with openconcept kitchen that features a waterfall island, European cabinets, Thermador appliances and space for entertaining. European Oak flooring throughout the home. Master features a walkin closet , free-standing tub and Italian tiles. Other features include: European oak flooring throughout, custom deck, outdoor fireplace and close proximity to Peers Park.

(continued on page 40)

July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 39

S U M M E R

R E A L

E S T A T E

Browsing by Budget

(continued from page 38)

Under $6 Million

UNDER $8 MILLION

Under $8 Million

Courtesy Nick Granoski

Courtesy Erika Demma

Woodside

Atherton

Address: 355 Old La Honda Road List price: $5.16M Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 3 Interior: 3,830 sq. ft. Lot size: .91 acres Year built: 1929 Description: Gated two-story home with rustic charm and period accents, including redwoodpaneled walls, antique lighting, Douglas fir floors and brass fixtures. Other features include: views of San Francisco Bay and the east bay Hills; landscaped grounds with English garden, lawns, a chicken coop and vegetable and fruit gardens.

Address: 127 Selby Lane List price: $7.29M Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 4/1 Interior: 4,430 sq. ft. Lot size: .995 acres Year built: 1986 Description: Two-story traditional-style home in excellent condition with great opportunity to create a family room that opens to the kitchen and add a detached or attached guest house. Other features include: swimming pool, pool house, bocce ball court, two second-story master bedrooms and an office with a fireplace.

Under $10 Million

Under $40 Million

UNDER $10 MILLION Atherton Address: 45 Valley Court List price: $8.7M Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 4/1 Interior: 5,800 sq. ft. Lot size: 6.24 acres Year built: 1995 Description: Property with lots of privacy located at the end of a lane with an olive garden that features 200+ trees and the possibility for equestrian use. In addition to the main home, the property includes a spacious guest house with a full kitchen and bath. Other features include: intimate patios, a large office, a master suite and two additional bedroom suites. Courtesy DeLeon Realty

Courtesy Don Yarkin

Palo Alto

Los Altos Hills

Address: 1039 University Ave. List price: $9.99M Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 4/1 Interior: 5,617 sq. ft. Lot size: 20,000 sq. ft. Year built: 2003 Description: Turnkey home on a large lot close to downtown that reflects a seamless blend of technology and stunning design elements, including radiant heat throughout and a disappearing wall of glass in the great room. Other features include: swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, dramatic water features and a soundresistant front wall.

Address: 27500 La Vida Real List price: $39.99M Bedrooms: 6 Bathrooms: 7/5 Interior: 20,982 sq. ft. Lot size: 8.03 acres Year built: 2010 Description: Property with globally inspired architecture that sits on resort-like grounds. Features include: indoor pool under retractable skylights, 15-seat theater, 3,000-bottle capacity wine cellar and comprehensive home automation.

Palo Alto Address: 2350 Byron St. List price: $7.99M Bedrooms: 6 Bathrooms: 5/1 Interior: 6,495 sq. ft. Lot size: .364 acres Year built: 1953 Description: Old Palo Alto estate with spacious formal rooms that open to a private courtyard, chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen and family room combination and an office with a private front entrance. Other features include: Swimming pool, spa, media room.

UNDER $25 MILLION Atherton Address: 338 Walsh Road List price: $23.85M Bedrooms: 6 Bathrooms: 6/3 Interior: 12,323 sq. ft. Lot size: 1.112 acres Year built: 2020 Description: Newly built contemporary three-level home located on a landscaped 1.1acre lot surrounded by oak trees. Floor plan includes large rooms for entertaining and walls of windows opening to expansive manicured gardens. Other features include: two master suites, theater, wine room, exercise room, a one-bedroom guest house, swimming pool, outdoor fireplace and elevator. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Compiled by Linda Taaffe

40 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

A steady hand in uncertain times… with the market changes and uncertainty posed by the pandemic, it has never been more important to have a trusted advisor. Derk has been just that to his clients for two decades. His philosophy of client service differs from most top producing agents. He offers a hands-on, personal approach to the sale of a home. This extends from preparation through the close of escrow. Rather than handing a client off to a series of assistants, Derk manages every aspect of the sale including property prep, marketing, open houses, negotiation, and closing. This provides a seamless transaction from beginning to end. The recent merger of Alain Pinel and Compass has given us the ability to leverage the reputation of the most respected local brand in real estate, with the marketing strength and technological innovation of the nation’s largest Brokerage. The sum is unequaled in the local market. If you are considering selling or buying a home in the mid-peninsula, contact Derk to engage the expertise of a true local.

Derk Brill

Wall Street Journal “Top Residential Realtors” in America

M: 650.814.0478 Derk@DerkBrill.com www.DerkBrill.com License# 01256035 July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 41

FOR SALE

Atherton

Menlo Park

FOR SALE

oOO^pWMO t{to| db Â&#x201C;Ă Â&#x203A;Â&#x2013; KoO Â&#x2DC; JOMpĂ&#x203A; Â&#x2014; JBsVpĂĽ Bllod{Ă Â&#x2013;Ă&#x203A;Â&#x153;Â&#x2122;Â&#x201C; pT Gated privacy with pool

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$5,200,000 | 80SanMateo.com

$5,100,000 Ĺ&#x161; 349WalshRd.com

$7,450,000 Ĺ&#x161; 107Reservoir.com

FOR SALE

Redwood City

107 Reservoir Road

Atherton

349 Walsh Road

Menlo Park

80 San Mateo Drive

FOR SALE

2 Sutherland Drive

37 Nevada Street

Remodeled Bungalow in Downtown Â&#x2013; JOMpĂ&#x203A; Â&#x2022; JBsVpĂĽ Bllod{Ă Â&#x201D;Ă&#x203A;Â&#x161;Â&#x201C;Â&#x201C; pT 2 blocks to Santa Cruz Avenue

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$2,450,000 Ĺ&#x161; 1364Johnson.com

$10,750,000 Ĺ&#x161; 2Sutherland.com

$2,795,000 Ĺ&#x161; 37Nevada.com

Menlo Park

1364 Johnson Street

COMING SOON

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Represented Seller

631 Harvard Avenue $2,950,000

Tom LeMieux,

MBA

HOME

We are available to you now, as always, with safety Â opsĂ&#x203A; sOKVbd_dU|Ă&#x203A; O{lOoWObKOĂ&#x203A; BbM adps dT B__ KBoOĂ

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Selling homes during Shelter-in-Place and/or helping you plan now for the future.

Jennifer Bitter, MBA

650.465.7459 sdaĹ&#x2019;_OaWOt{. Ă Kda

650.308.4401 ]ObbWTOoĹ&#x2019;_OaWOt{. Ă Kda

License #01066910

License #01847627

A Wall Street Journal Top-Producing Real Estate Team, 2020 Over $2.5 billion in sales since 1998 _OaWOt{. Ă Kda Ĺ&#x161; Ĺ&#x2019;_OaWOt{.

Rankings provided courtesy of Real Trends, The Thousand list of individual agents by total sales volume. Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01866771. All material presented herein is intended for WbTdoaBsWdbB_ ltoldpOp db_| BbM Wp KdalW_OM Toda pdtoKOp MOOaOM oO_WBJ_O Jts VBp bds JOOb yOoWÂ OMĂ VBbUOp Wb loWKOĂ&#x203A; KdbMWsWdbĂ&#x203A; pB_O do zWsVMoBzB_ aB| JO aBMO zWsVdts bdsWKOĂ !d psBsOaObs Wp aBMO Bp sd BKKtoBK| dT Bb| MOpKoWlsWdbĂ __ aOBptoOaObsp BbM pntBoO TddsBUO BoO Bllod{WaBsOĂ

42 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

Viewpoint IDEAS, THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS

ABOUT LOCAL ISSUES

Recognize the progress of high-speed rail project By Jim Beall and Scott Wiener/ CalMatters

alifornia’s high-speed rail project is under fire again, but history shows us that major infrastructure projects are almost always controversial. Before it was built, the Golden Gate Bridge was derided as financially unsound, legally dubious and an aesthetic blight. BART was deemed “the ultimate money drain.” Today opponents of the high-speed rail shorthand their objections: “boondoggle.” Mega-infrastructure projects are hard. The bigger the project, the harder it gets. And California hasn’t tackled an infrastructure project as big or as bold as high-speed rail since the building of our state highway system more than 50 years ago. Yet despite all the handwringing, the political infighting, the calls to cancel the project and redirect funds, progress marches steadily forward. The High-Speed Rail Authority is systematically and transparently working its way through full environmental clearance for the entire statewide system by the end of 2022 so that as continued funding becomes available, the state is ready to build. What’s not reported often is that this project is undertaking the largest environmental clearance effort in the country. The authority continues to make steady progress on this effort, with a schedule that shows they’ll meet the federally mandated 2022 deadline. Construction of the highspeed rail system is fully underway at 32 job sites across several counties along the first

L E TT E R Our readers write

Please address sea level rise One of the worst companies in the world for human rights violations and environmental degradation wants to build a small city the size of Belmont in the Bay. The Trump administration brought back an environmentally destructive

GUEST OPINION

119 miles of the system. This stretch will be the heart of the system and the testing ground for the nation’s first electrified high-speed rail trains. As of this month, 4,000 men and women have been put to work on construction jobs in the Central Valley because of the high-speed rail project. Rather than joining the swollen ranks of unemployed Californians, these men and women are providing for themselves and their families and helping build California’s future. Here in the Bay Area, thanks to $700 million of investment from the High-Speed Rail Authority, Caltrain is already working on its part of the project: electrifying the Peninsula corridor. Ultimately, Caltrain will share tracks with highspeed rail trains for the ride between San Francisco and Gilroy. The High-Speed Rail Authority is also collaborating with local agencies to bring trains to the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco and to reimagine the future of Diridon Station in San Jose. This project is moving along, and contrary to recent reports, legislative oversight of the project has been consistent and ongoing. The state Senate and Assembly each appoint members to sit on the authority board and receive regular updates on the authority’s plans and progress. The Legislature also holds final authority over release of bond funds, a major source of project funding. Both sides of the aisle seem to agree that infrastructure project by dumping the salt pond Baylands out of the Clean Water Act. Trump has also made it easier for corporations to kill the shorebirds that nest at the salt ponds by diluting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. And Trump has further narrowed the Clean Water Act to eliminate additional bodies of water. California responded last week with a state law enshrining protection for migratory birds and a new

projects are essential. Both sides agree that we need jobs. Yet somehow this infrastructure project, which is not only creating jobs but also connecting the major economic regions of our state — while tackling climate change, traffic and affordable housing — continues to remain controversial. The time is now to move forward on bringing this critical investment into reality. These days the Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic symbol of San Francisco. And it’s hard to imagine what Bay Area traffic would look like without BART. Someday, high-speed rail will hold a similar place in California’s economy and vitality. We can build things in California. It takes persistence, patience, political will, longterm vision and thoughtful public discourse. And it would help if we can all agree to drop the term “boondoggle” and start recognizing the progress that’s happening right in our home state. State Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) represents the 15th Senate District and is chair of the Transportation Committee. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) represents the 11th Senate District and is chair of the Housing Committee. CalMatters is a Sacramentobased nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. It works with more than 130 media partners throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences, including The Almanac.

state regulation setting definitions that expand protection to smaller wetlands and seasonal waterways. Now we need local jurisdictions like Redwood City and Menlo Park to take similar charge of shoreline protection, including bird nesting habitat. Please save the salt ponds for open space. Gladwyn d’Souza Co-chair of the Conservation Committee, Sierra Club — Loma Prieta chapter

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PUBLIC NOTICE WOODSIDE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT Notice is hereby given that the preliminary budget of Woodside Fire Protection District, for the FY 2020-2021 has been adopted by the Directors of said District, and is available at the Woodside Fire Admin Bldg. in Portola Valley, for inspection during the week commencing Monday, June 29, 2020. That on Monday, August 31, 2020 at 7 o'clock p.m. of said day at the, Woodside Fire Admin Bldg. in Portola Valley, the Board of Directors will meet for the purpose of finalizing the final budget, and any person may appear and be heard regarding the increase, decrease, or omission of any item of the budget, or for the inclusion of any addition items. Woodside Fire Protection District by Fire Chief Robert A. Lindner

Public Notices The Almanac is adjudicated to publish in San Mateo County. Public Hearing Notices • Resolutions • Bid Notices Notices of Petition to Administer Estate Lien Sale • Trustee’s Sale Deadline is 5 p.m. the previous &RIDAY. Call Alicia Santillan at 650-223-6578 or email asantillan@paweekly.com for assistance with your legal advertising needs.

What’s on your mind? From City Hall politics and the schools to transportation and other pressing issues, the Almanac aims to keep readers informed about their community. But we also want to hear from you. Tell us what’s on your mind by sending your letters to letters@AlmanacNews.com. Or snail-mail them to: The Almanac, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. You can also submit a longer piece of 450 to 600 words for consideration to publish as a guest opinion column. Questions? Email editor@AlmanacNews.com, or call 650-223-6537.

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July 17, 2020 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 45

Artscene

P E O P L E A N D P E R F O R M A N C E S I N A R T S A N D E N T E R TA I N M E N T

Rethinking local theater Artistic directors of Dragon and Fuse on adapting to the present and planning a more equitable future By Karla Kane

here’s no doubt that in the coming months, many performing arts organizations will be fighting to survive in a COVID-19-ravaged climate. For some local luminaries, though, the fight is not about merely survival; it’s about reimagining theater for the better. “If Dragon isn’t going to be able to make paying historically vulnerable and underrepresented people a priority, then we shouldn’t survive it,” said Bora “Max” Koknar, co-artistic director of Dragon Productions Theatre Company. “The point of a nonprofit organization is not to perpetuate itself, it is to serve, and now is our chance to serve.” When Koknar and wife Alika Ululani Spencer-Koknar stepped up as Dragon’s leaders in early 2019, they knew they wanted to make the theater a vibrant community hub, more than just a space to stage plays. In Fuse Theatre, founded by Stacey Ardelean in 2015 with the mission of promoting social justice and education, they found a kindred spirit, and the two Redwood City companies joined forces for an annual short-play festival centered on timely topics. This year, they’re adapting the festival — “CoEXIST: stories of unlikely connection” — into an ongoing series in a variety of online formats “for important conversations around racism and to support BIPOC (Black, indigenous and people of color) and queer artists,” according to the festival’s press release. Ardelean, Spencer-Koknar and Koknar discussed how they’re coping through the current crises. When pandemic-mandated shutdowns began to hit locally, “we decided that just because we can’t continue running our show doesn’t mean that people don’t need what the theater and arts can provide,” Koknar said. “The knee-jerk reaction is to do archival videos and Zoom readings — which we did! — but the question became, ‘How do we move forward and not just pretend to do the same thing, but online? How do we create community through the arts?’” The Dragon sprung into action, not only by creating online versions of its popular “Live at the Dragon” variety shows, circus

shows, and acting and writing classes for adults and kids, but also a dizzying selection of interactive, online offerings including late-night spooky tale-telling, morning children’s storytime (complete with hedgehog puppet), cooking lessons, lunchtime exercises, cocktail-hour discussions and more. Fuse was also able to pivot, taking the three plays it was working on for the Bay Area Women’s Theater Festival, filming them and putting them online, along with audience talkbacks. Developing original works, Ardelean pointed out, means not having to deal with the onerous task of securing rights for filming and streaming. Besides several new plays in development, Fuse offers “Fridays with Fuse,” weekly interactive online programming that rotates between game nights, music nights, play readings, family activities and special guests. “It makes our community engagement component very different, a little more intimate,” Ardelean said. Koknar has been able to harness his tech skills to help performers with Twitch, Zoom, Facebook Live and other platforms, as well as how to best use microphones, camera angles and more. “We’re really trying to reimagine what we can do. How we approach what we do. What on earth is the point of the theater company when artists have access to all the same tools of productions?” Koknar mused. “We’re here for the audience too, but right now we’re here for the artists.” That reimagining includes trying to tear down the elitist hierarchies and lack of diversity entrenched everywhere — the arts included. “If we’re going to survive this, it can’t be about just surviving; it needs to be about coming out on the other side of this with a more equitable model for artists and making experiences more accessible to more people,” he said. “It’s been a struggle to push against the economic realities, I don’t know how to pay artists more than $300 for hundreds of hours of labor,” Koknar said. “But all of these things that have happened over the last few months are making it feel more urgent and critical that everything I’ve been railing against, I just act on.”

46 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q July 17, 2020

Actively supporting and showcasing more stories from people of color and others from underrepresented populations will be key, and the “Co-EXIST” festival seemed a natural way to explore some of these issues. “When Black Lives Matter came to the forefront, we took a step back,” Ardelean said. “We’ve really had some indepth conversations internally. How were we representing and giving space for the stories that need to be told? There’s always room for improvement. We realized that ‘Co-EXIST’ could be a much larger platform,” she said. This month’s Co-EXIST offerings include a July 17 reading of “GRIT” by Nick Malakhow, a July 18 panel discussion by queer artists of color and July 20 and 22 performances of “Lady and the Unicorn,” by Emma Attwood. A July 21 short-play clinic, moderated by Peet Cocke and AliMoosa Mirza, will allow writers to submit and receive feedback on plays exploring intersectional and cross-cultural themes. Plans for August currently include a panel of transgender athletes. Dragon and Fuse have committed to running the programming through September and will be seeking funding to extend it all year. Though times have been challenging for the organizations, the renewed commitment to diversity is one of several bright spots. Another is accessibility. Offering interactive programming online means that it’s open to people all around the world. Dragon and Fuse have gained not only new patrons and performers but also new friends, people who had never attended their live shows but found themselves hungry for human connection. They’re also able to work with a greater variety of artists, writers and educators, no longer limited by geography. “Live at the Dragon really exploded (since going online). It’s made the most money it’s ever made,” Spencer-Koknar said. “Reaching out to artists that wouldn’t be able to otherwise come to Redwood City is huge.” Creating greater accessibility for people who wouldn’t otherwise attend a show, whether for health, locational or economic reasons, is also key. As ever, making ends meet

Courtesy Dragon Productions Theatre Company

Alika Spencer-Koknar, Dragon co-artistic director (joined by Reginald T. Hedgehog), leads a weekly storytime for kids via Facebook Live.

Courtesy Fuse Theatre

Actors J. Adán Ruiz and Doy Charnsupharindr rehearse with playwright Chlesea Unzner. They performed a reading of the first scene of “Travels in Thailand” for a “Co-EXIST” event in June and received audience feedback.

financially is tough, as is charging admission for programming that may not be up to the production standards of traditional theater. Most current offerings are pay-what-you-will. Koknar said the Dragon has been earning between $8,000-$12,000 a month in “unprecedented” donations, and the landlord has waived rent on their prime downtown Redwood City location for the time being (Fuse does not have a space of its own). In June, Dragon asked patrons to donate to social justice causes instead of to the theater. But this month they’ve been hit with a $12,000 employment insurance bill, and costs will increase as they begin paying other artists to do what they were previously doing on a volunteer basis. “It’s been an uphill battle. We’re not the only arbiters of what the Dragon can do, but we think that there is a way forward

through people’s generosity and creating innovative programming,” Koknar said. Do they ever feel overwhelmed by the struggle to keep small arts organizations afloat while fighting for systemic change (in a pandemic, no less)? “The more I’m reaching out to other people, the more hopeful I become,” said Spencer-Koknar. “For me, it’s about collective vision. Being able to be nimble with that, and responsive rather than prescriptive,” Ardelean said. “Yes, it’s hard, but now that we’ve got so much action we’re going to take, it’s much more hopeful. Everybody’s ready to try. It’s been like quicksand,” Koknar laughed. “But it’s good.” More information is available at dragonproductions.net and fusetheatre.org. A Email Karla Kane at kkane@paweekly.com

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